With a schedule against many so-called mid-majors schools the Utah Valley men’s basketball team had an up-and-down holiday break, with the downs a little more frequent.
Utah Valley did beat San Francisco and Eddie Sutton, who has 798 Division I wins and took over as interim head coach for San Francisco a week before facing the Wolverines.
Ryan Toolson continues to lead the Wolverines in scoring with 22 points per game and Jordan Brady is averaging 10.9 points per game as the only other player scoring in double figures.
Utah Valley (6-9) has struggled both at home, with a record of 3-3 compared to last years 14-1 home record, and on the road with a 2-6 record away from Orem.
The schedule eases up a bit for Utah Valley now, but the team doesn’t return home until January 22.
After five straight losses from November 28 on the road against San Francisco to a home loss December 13 to Boise State, Utah Valley pulled out a win at Southern Utah.
It took double overtime, a career-high in scoring by Toolson and a 3-pointer by Toolson at the end of regulation, at the end of the first overtime and to seal the win at the end of the second overtime.
"I’m very happy for our players," Utah Valley coach Dick Hunsaker said. "They never dropped their heads even during the tough times."
Utah Valley trailed by 15 points in the first half and went into halftime down by nine points.
Freshman guard Kevin Woods had his best game as a Wolverine in a loss against Cal State Northridge. Woods scored a career-high 15 points but Utah Valley gave up a late lead.
"Coach put some new things in the offense to try to take some pressure off Toolson," Woods said. "I am best at one-on-one stuff and coach told me to take it when I had the opportunity."
Hunsaker said, "Woods has some good aspects to his game but he’s still young and he’s learning."
In the team’s final game before the holiday break was over, Utah Valley beat San Francisco by hitting a record 13 3-pointers. Toolson scored 31 points and tied a school record with seven 3-pointers. Josh Olsen scored 12 points and made three 3-pointers.
Utah Valley hits the road for five straight road games before returning to the McKay Center to face North Carolina Central.
