The Utah Valley University Wolverines defeated the Park University (Arizona) Buccaneers in a 59-54 thriller. Strong performances from Shay Fano and Jaeden Brown boosted the Wolverines to their first win of the season. Brown recorded 12 points and 7 rebounds and Fano recorded a 21 point and 11 rebound double double.
“They were up the whole game and I think our willingness has a team to fight back in the end,” said Fano, junior from Spanish Fork, Utah. “We went hard the whole time and in the end we won.”
The Wolverines started off slow after being outscored 16-8 in the first quarter. The Buccaneers outshot the Wolverines recording a 42.86 field goal percentage over the Wolverines 25%.
The Wolverines shot significantly better than the Buccaneers in the second and third quarters posting over 50 percent field goal percentage opposed to the Buccaneers 36% and 35%. The Wolverines outscores the Buccaneers in the middle quarters 17-16 and 19-14 narrowing the Buccaneers lead to two and a 46-44 game after three quarters.
In the final quarter, the Buccaneers started off hot thanks to a few layups and success at the freethrow line. They grabbed a 54-49 lead with 3:11 left in the game. Brown and Fano combined for 8 of the next 10 Wolverine points in the Wolverine’s 10-0 run to finish the game, resulting in a 59-54 win.
The Wolverines travel to Salt Lake City to take on the University of Utah on Friday Nov. 11. For a full team schedule and information, visit gouvu.com.
