The Utah Valley men’s basketball team played their third consecutive road game when they traveled to Seattle to face the Seattle U Redhawks. On Saturday night, Jan. 11, SU jumped out to a quick, early lead and never looked back — defeating UVU 83-50.
UVU played without one of their usual starters, junior guard Casdon Jardine. He has shot a solid 43.2% from behind the arc this season. Sophomore guard Trey Woodbury got the start in place of Jardine.
The Redhawks took advantage of the Wolverines’ lack of perimeter shooting early on as they took a 10-1 lead in the first four minutes of play. Back-to-back fast break scores by SU put them up by 17 points with 11 minutes left — UVU wouldn’t get within 17 points the rest of the game.
UVU was able to find open shots but finished the half shooting 5-of-20 from the field and 0-of-7 from 3-point range. Ten of UVU’s 20 first half points came from the foul line.
Things didn’t get much better for UVU as they went scoreless in the first five minutes of the second half. UVU’s shooting woes were not just from outside though, the team shot 1-of-5 in the paint to open the half.
Junior guard Jamison Overton gave the Wolverines a spark off the bench in his 23 minutes on the court, scoring 10 points and grabbing a couple offensive rebounds. Overton was the only player to finish with double-digit points for UVU, Woodbury and junior guard Brandon Averette each finished with nine points. Senior forward Emmanuel Olojakpoke added five total rebounds and a pair of blocks.
The Redhawks had three players finish with double-digit points, led by sophomore guard Riley Grigsby. SU shot 45.5% from the field and 40.7% from behind the arc. The Redhawks improve to 2-1 in WAC play and 9-9 overall.
UVU drops to 1-2 in conference play and 7-11 for the season. The Wolverines return home next week to host the New Mexico State Aggies on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. MST in the UCCU Center.
Photo by Hunter Hall
