OREM – First impressions matter. That’s what we’re told. Which can sometimes work against that other bit of advice we’re given: don’t judge a book by its cover. Men’s basketball made the ultimate first impression; a final score of 84-63. And if we judge this book by its cover, then UVU fans are in for a treat.
Isaac Davis ended the night with 22 points, the most in the game. Behind him was Dominick Nelson with 16 in his first game back as a Wolverine. The plays they made throughout were quick and efficient. The first ten minutes contained a heavy emphasis on points from their front court. Lobs, passes, or shots missed all led to Davis and other Wolverines getting free from their defenders and scoring.
Davis was such a presence on the court that whenever he’d get the ball, Western Colorado would back off to give him space. It was difficult for them to guard him all night, eventually they’d use two defenders to block his lay-up and attempt to shut him down.
Even with the tenacity, Davis was all smiles all night. “I bring it every day. I’m a positive guy,” said the Junior forward, “There’s no need to be negative. Got to bring in that juice every single day.”
That positivity must be contagious as the team played . Most of their points came off fast breaks. Everyone contributed. They thrive in the fast-break chaos. This team plays quick and expects you to be overwhelmed. Any gap under the rim is quickly exposed and taken advantage of. Even a turnover from the Wolverines ends with them getting a clean block on a lay-up.
“You can win a lot of games that way,” said head coach Todd Philips, “you can get out and run and get easy ones in transition. Our team has been kind of built in doing that.”
At the halftime buzzer, Utah Valley leads 50-34. They leave the court feeling good, maybe too good.
“You know, we’re up 30, and then we just relax with 7 minutes left,” said fifth-year Dominick Nelson, “We all knew we were going to win the game and we just took our foot off the gas.” In the second half, the Mountaineers were able to rally and got as close as 12 points behind.
He isn’t bothered by this, though, as he would only be worried if this problem came up much later down the line. Tonight, Nelson played with an emphasis on back-filling. Wherever his team struggled, whether a bad pass, a missed shot, or a loose ball. They could almost always count on Nelson to be there and patch that gap.
“Coming into this year and talking with the staff, that’s something I needed to be better at. I’m more of a quiet, laid back guy and I observe everything else.” said Nelson, “It feels great to be back and I’m excited for the season and I know we can do big things.”
It’s difficult to not agree with him. Utah Valley was able to snap out of it and closed the game 84-63. This team heads to Ogden to play Weber State on Saturday Nov 7.
More on Utah Valley
