The highly anticipated second matchup between the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah University and the Wolverines of Utah Valley University ended in a monstrous win for the Wolverines, who won the contest 100-59 on Saturday, Mar. 1, in Orem, Utah.
Utah Valley narrowly escaped Cedar City with a two-point victory in their previous matchup; however, this time around, the holiday of March madness came early, resulting in a 41-point blowout.
With the win, UVU improves to 21-7 on the year and 13-1 in conference play. SUU, with the loss, drops to 12-17 on the year and 4-11 in the Western Athletic Conference.
First half
UVU started the game on a fast 5-0 start, which quickly developed into a towering 25-8 lead. Baskets came by the dozen for Utah Valley, and they proceeded to run away with the game with the biggest lead of the half tallying 28.
Southern Utah broke into the bench early and got their entire roster involved; however, no one seemed to be the answer. The half drew to a close with UVU on top 52-24.
Second half
Struggles continued for SUU as the offense seemed to be stagnant. Before too long, Utah Valley had stretched their lead to a point that seemed insurmountable. The basket appeared to be extremely wide for Utah Valley.
Utah Valley put up 100 points on 60% shooting from the field, both their season high in conference play.
Shooting percentages were ice cold for Southern Utah; besides three late three-point field goals, the team shot an abysmal 0-18 from the arc and 34.4% from the floor.
Key statistics
— Utah Valley’s Tanner Toolson and Dominick Nelson led all scorers with 17 apiece
— Brock Felder led SUU in scoring with 11
— UVU saw six players score double figures
What’s next?
Southern Utah will close out the regular season hosting Seattle University on Thursday, Mar. 6, at 6:30 p.m. You can watch the game live in the American First Event Center or streamed live on ESPN+.
Author: Preston Ferry
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Jack Paul
