Wolverines fade late against Bobcats
OREM, Utah – In a closely contested matchup at the UCCU Center Tuesday night, the Utah Valley University men’s basketball team fell to the Montana State Bobcats by a score of 76-72. The Wolverines’ rebounding troubles reared their ugly head in the closing minutes of play as the Bobcats scored the final four points to take the win.
Konner Frey led the UVU charge with 26 points on eight-of-16 shooting with nine rebounds. The Wolverines finished the night shooting 35.5 percent on the night to the Bobcats’ 46.3 percent. UVU’s demise was the difference on the glass with a final margin of 45 to 35, in favor of MSU.
The highlight play of the game belonged to Frey, who caught a pass from Cory Cardwell on his way to the hoop, then drew a foul on a big slam-dunk.
“It was an awesome pass from Cory Cardwell, it was spot on,” Frey said. “He put the ball right where it needed to be. It was an open lane, I was able to finish it, get to the line, and make the and-one.”
Frey hit the ensuing free throw to complete the 3-point play and give UVU a 58-55 lead with 10:28 to play.
Utah Valley did not relinquish the lead until Marcus Colbert hit a pair of free throws to give Montana State a 68-66 lead with 4:20 remaining in the game. Hayden Schenck tied the game at 72-72 by knocking down two free throws with 1:32, but those would be the last points the Wolverines would score.
“If you think about our starting five…we’ve got a bunch of guys who have never played,” UVU head coach Mark Pope said. “So what we see down the stretch is guys that have never played having just a little immature game, and that’s my job to fix that and reign it in. We’ve got to find some answers to that, but we will.”
In a game with 20 lead changes and 15 ties, the Bobcats broke the final tie on a Tyler Hall tip-in with 1:32 to play and closed out the Wolverines by grabbing six rebounds to one in the final two minutes.
With the loss, the Wolverines fall to 2-5 on the season. UVU hosts the Southern Utah Thunderbirds Saturday, December 5 at 7 p.m. MT at the UCCU Center.
Photos courtesy of Byron Harward & Julie Ostler
