By Alyssa Synakowski
Utah Valley men’s basketball dominated its opening game in the Western Athletic Conference tournament, earning an 83-63 victory over Texas-Pan American.
The Wolverines jumped out to a 51-25 lead at halftime, but had to withstand a UTPA run.
“We played a terrific half of basketball,” UVU head coach Dick Hunsaker said concerning the first half. “Give Texas-Pan American credit. … They played their hearts out in the second half, scrambled the game to make it competitive and interesting.”
UVU went 7-for-9 (78 percent) from behind the arc, 20-for-25 (80 percent) from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the first half.
Senior Holton Hunsaker said the team huddled together for a moment before the second half and the players told each other to stay together.
The Wolverines’ hot shooting continued in the second half, but the Broncs’ defensive pressure intensified and limited open looks for UVU. UTPA began the last 20 minutes pressing the ball on every inbounds pass.
UVU had six early turnovers in the half that allowed UTPA to climb back into the game with a 15-0 run, which cut the Wolverine lead to 13, 58-45, with 12:30 left to play.
The advantage was cut to a 12 with 8:53 left by a deep 3-pointer by Shaquille Boga, who finished the game with 21 points for the Broncs.
Momentum shifted at the 6:28 mark on a Zach Nelson drive that he converted with a right-handed dunk slammed in with a defender’s hand in his face.
The boisterous student section that traveled with UVU yelled in excitement for the play.
The play was followed by a Hayes Garrity 3-pointer that put UVU up 72-53 and sealed the win with less than 5 minutes to play.
Three players for UVU finished the game in double figures. Hunsaker had 24 points and 7 assists, Mitch Bruneel scored 18, and Keawe Enos had 12.
Hunsaker, Enos, Bruneel, Garrity, and Taylor Brown all had 3-pointers for UVU and the team finished shooting 10-for-15 (66.7 percent) from behind the arc.
The Wolverines play again at 7 p.m. MDT Friday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. They’ll play the Idaho Vandals, who beat the Kansas City ‘Roos in a 73-70 quarterfinal battle.
