Freshman Holton Hunsaker went 5-8 behind the arch on the way to his career-high 23 points Saturday night as Utah Valley (4-3) beat Sacramento State (2-5) in a 77-52 blow-out.
UVU brought the momentum from their road win last Wednesday night to the UCCU Center, building a solid lead early in the first half. Sacramento State was unable to close the gap throughout the night, trailing by as much as 26 in the second half.
“This is a big win for us,” said Senior Justin Baker, “Our plan was to come out with intensity in the first five minutes of every half. If we’d come out flat to begin the first half, who knows what would have happened.”
Baker was two rebounds shy of a double-double, with 11 points on the night.
Isiah Williams continued to play well, shooting 75 percent of his three-pointers and amassing 19 total points.
Commenting on the improvement over the early part of the season, Williams said, “In the first game, I was new, first year at UVU. Started getting more comfortable, with my teammates pushing me to do better, got more comfortable with them.”
The star of the night was freshman Hunsaker, as he nailed three consecutive 3-point shots towards the end of the first half. Hunsaker led the team overall with 23 points. Jordan Swarbrick also scored in the double digits, ending the night with 10.
Coach Dick Hunsaker commented that he was “very pleased” with the performance.
“A win in a PAC 10 game on the road, there’s a lot of good vibes,” he said.
Coach Hunsaker attributes the building success of the team on improvements in the play off the bench, also saying that the team is a work in progress.
Despite facing a large deficient, Sacramento State refused to give up, coming out with nearly as much intensity as the Wolverines.
“Sac State came out and fought like hell,” Coach Hunsaker commented.
The Hornets were unable to mount a rally, losing their second game in a row by a large margin after losing 84-36 on Nov. 30 to Washington State.
UVU will play on the road until they return home to face in-state opponent Utah State on Dec. 18. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM.
