UVU basketball proving it can play with anyone


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OREM, Utah — Imagine playing in a hostile environment, against an opponent that most people deem to be superior. It's the first time the two schools have played each other, as well. Add to the fact that you are down by 13 points with just over 12 minutes to play against a Pac-12 school. Sounds impossible to overcome the odds and possibly win the game, right?

For the Utah Valley University men's basketball team, they seem to enjoy that situation. They came from 27 down to beat Denver, 88-85, on Nov. 23. Against Washington State on Nov. 30, the Wolverines trailed by as many as 19 points in the second half but cut the lead to one with one minute to play before falling 83-76.

On Tuesday night, in the first-ever meeting between UVU and Utah on the hardwood, the Wolverines trailed by 13 with 12:05 to play. Senior guard Jordan Poydras scored nine straight points and finished with 21 points to help UVU take a 78-75 lead with just over two minutes to play. It was short-lived as Utah went on a 12-2 run to end the Wolverines' dream of shocking the world again.

However, what UVU proved on Tuesday night is that it can play with anyone. With a bounty of transfers, UVU head coach Mark Pope front-loaded the schedule with games at 8th-ranked Gonzaga, at Denver, at BYU, at Washington State, at Utah, Utah State and at Weber State. Pope did this because he knew that to be the best you have to beat the best.

Yes, UVU lost by 23 to 8th-ranked Gonzaga to start the season. But it beat a good Denver team, ran BYU right out of the Marriott Center, took Washington State and Utah down to the final horn and beat a good UT-San Antonio team, according to Pope.

Pope has relied on BYU transfer Isaac Neilson, who put on a clinic Tuesday night with 29 points and 15 rebounds. Neilson did the same thing 10 days ago against the school that let him go. The 6-foot-10 sophmore had 26 points and nine rebounds in the 114-101 win over the Cougars.

"I feel like we have proven that we can compete at a high level," Neilson said. "We may get down, but we're stubborn and we'll always come back. We're gaining confidence in our players and we're gaining confidence in the offense and we're gaining confidence in our coach. I think that we'll just continue to grow upon that."

Even Utah forward Kyle Kuzma and Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak took notice of UVU and what they are capable of.

"Utah Valley has a great team and I wouldn't be surprised if they win the WAC," Kuzma said.

"We knew they weren't going to go away," Krystkowiak said. "They have an awful lot of firepower … (Brandon) Randolph is a heck of a point guard, and the big fella had one of his best games ever … a lot of things had to come together for us to preserve a win against a really good team."

With a win over Utah State on Saturday night, the Wolverines would improve to 6-3 and with a favorable schedule to finish the non-conference slate, could surpass 12 wins before the conference opener at Grand Canyon on Jan. 7.

How is that for a team whose strength of schedule thus far is better than BYU, Utah, Washington State and Weber State?

"Our guys have proven that they're going to compete," Pope said. "I'm as proud of that as anything. We were down 27 on the road and came back and won. We were down 21 on the road and came back and almost won a game. … I know they're going to fight … we just gotta get better."


Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs and the Utah Valley University Wolverines. He is a communication major at UVU and will graduate in the spring of 2017. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias

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