Tim Castaneda, Sports Writer, Twitter: @xTIMBOxSLICEx
Marcel Davis tied a career-high with 20 points as UVU men’s basketball defeated University of Texas-Pan American 72-49 to end the team’s seven-game losing streak in conference play on Saturday.
Davis led four Wolverines double-digit scorers on the night behind 9-for-15 shooting, 2-for-6 from 3-point range while also adding 3 rebounds and 3 assists on the night.
“I thought Marcel really was energized and determined. A lot of determination I found in his play,” said UVU head coach Dick Hunsaker. “And as good as his offensive performance was, I thought his defensive effort was even better.”
The Wolverines offense picked up in the second half as they went on a 17-2 run that started on an alley-oop pass from Zach Nelson to Mitch Bruneel and ended with a Nelson layup to cap it off.
“We stuck with our game plan, and we stuck with some toughness offensively,” said UVU head coach Dick Hunsaker. “We’ve been working very hard to get good shots. Tonight we made a lot of shots and on the defensive end it just brings a little more lift in your step.”
As a team UVU shot 54.9 percent on the night, while shooting 39 percent from 3-point range leading to 27 points from beyond the arc for the Wolverines.
UVU’s defense fed off of the spark provided on offense, as they held an opponent to 51 points or less for the second-straight game. They also outrebounded UTPA 32-20 and forced 10 turnovers.
In addition to Davis’ outstanding offensive night, Bruneel scored 15 points, Donte Williams followed with 12 and Nelson 11 to give UVU starters a 58-43 scoring advantage over UTPA’s starters. In addition to outstanding efforts from their starters, the Wolverines backups added 14 points to outscore the opponent’s bench 14-6.
UVU men’s basketball improves to 10-18 overall, 4-8 in WAC play as the team heads into the final two weeks of the regular season.
The Wolverines head out on a two-game road trip before returning home for their final game of the regular season against CSU-Bakersfield on March 7 at the UCCU Center with tip-off set for 7:05 p.m. MT.
