UVU men’s basketball drops road contest to Denver

Konner Frey has double double for Wolverines

Annie Hansen | Sports writer | Annie Hansen

Denver, CO – Konnor Frey had a double double with 15 points and 12 rebounds but it wasn’t enough as the Denver Pioneers defeated the Utah Valley University Wolverines 75-62 at Magness Arena on Wednesday night.

The loss drops UVU’s to 1-2 in the first season under new head coach Mark Pope.

Taking a 7-0 lead in the first half, the Pioneers had a good start with most of their shots coming inside the paint. It didn’t help that the Wolverines missed their first seven shots of the game. It took UVU almost three minutes to get their first basket of the game, which came on an Ivory Young layup.

UVU could not get within more than nine points the entire first half. They shot 33 percent in the first half and took almost as many free throws (18) as field goals (21). It was the free throw shooting where the Wolverines were 16 of 18 that kept them in the game in the first half.

With the Pioneers leading 32-22 with 7:06 left in the first half, it became a back and forth game as both teams hit shots. The Wolverines trimmed the lead to single digits with 44 seconds to play. However, Joe Rosga hit a three-point bucket for Denver to give them a 45-33 lead at the half.

Finding themselves down by 14 in the second half, the Wolverines couldn’t seem to grab hold of any rhythm as the Pioneers kept a 10-point distance throughout the second half almost climbing to a 20-point lead.

Jaden Jackson and Darrious Hamilton each scored in double digits for UVU with 12 points each. Hamilton also added nine rebounds.

Marcus Byrd put up 14 points for the Pioneers. Duke Douglas and Nate Engesser each had 11 points for Denver, respectively.

UVU takes on Antelope Valley on Friday night in the PE Building with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.

Photos courtesy o Valerie Cheatham and Gabi Campbell