Tim Castaneda, Sports Writer, @xTIMBOxSLICEx
UVU men’s basketball ran away in the second half with a 77-55 blow-out victory over Saint Katherine University on Monday behind a game-high 17 points from forward Zach Nelson to end its three-game losing streak.
Nelson, who finished the game shooting 7-for-11 from the field while adding five rebounds and a career-high tying four blocks, started the 10-0 Wolverine second-half surge with a pair of baskets in the low post.
After trailing 13-6 at the start of the game, the Wolverines clawed their way to a 38-31 halftime lead and came out of the break firing to hold off a feisty St. Katherine’s team. As a team, they hit 60 percent of their shots in the second half en route to their 22-point victory.
“Saint Katherine was scrappy, hustled and made some challenging shots from beyond the arc,” said UVU head coach Dick Hunsaker. “They came in and gave us a battle. Certainly a better feeling leaving the court as victors and hopefully we can build on this win as we re-enter WAC play.”
St. Katherine’s hot 3-point shooting kept them in the game as they scored nearly half of their points from beyond the arc, hitting nine total for the game. Dante Miller led all St. Katherine scorers with 16 points, shooting 3-for-7 from 3-point range, while adding 10 rebounds for a double-double. Arigad Abramian also made three shots from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from 3-point range.
However, it wasn’t enough to overcome four Wolverines players reaching double figures in scoring. Point guard Marcel Davis scored 14 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting night with eight assists and six rebounds on the night. Mitch Bruneel scored 12 points and Donte Williams added 11. Jaden Jackson finished with 10 points to top off the double-digit scoring for UVU.
The Wolverines finished the night with a 46-14 points-in-the-paint advantage over St. Katherine while hitting 55 percent of its shots as a team.
UVU improves to a 9-14 overall record on the season, as it gets set to return to WAC play where it currently holds a 3-5 record.
The team now travels to face Grand Canyon for its next WAC game on Feb. 14 before returning home to face New Mexico State on Feb. 19 at 7:05 p.m. at the UCCU Center.
