Men’s basketball: Looking back at the first half of the season

Jared Jensen

January 11, 2019

schedule 2 min read

The start of spring semester means the continuation of some exciting basketball at Utah Valley University. The men’s basketball team put on quite a show before WAC play even began.

The Wolverines started off the season with a strong home win against Westminster, handing them a 96-71 beating. A three-game slump to BYU, Saint Mary’s and Utah State followed before UVU was able to pull off a five-game win streak. Two of those wins resulted in UVU bringing home the 2018 Middleweight Belt at the MGM Resorts Main Event tournament in Las Vegas.  

UVU brought a record of 11-4 into the start of conference play when they played Grand Canyon University, losing 71-60. This was followed by another loss at CSU Bakersfield, giving them a 0-2 conference start. The start of WAC play hasn’t been ideal, but with 14 games remaining in the conference schedule, there is plenty of time for UVU to regroup, especially before the WAC tournament in March. Eight of those games will be played at the UCCU Center where the Wolverines have had a hot winning streak. UVU is 20-0 at home since Nov. 29, 2017 and fans would love to see that streak continue.

The Toolson cousins, Jake (junior) and Conner (senior), are leading the team in points with 256 and 231 respectively. Jake averages 15.1 points per game, while Conner puts up 13.6 of his own points. Isaiah White (sophomore) leads the team in blocks, averaging 0.6 blocks per game and Baylee Steele (junior) leads the team in rebounds, averaging 7.1 a game.

The Wolverines have had a chance to catch their breath after two losses, and will start a three- game home stretch starting on Saturday, Jan. 12 against Seattle University. They then will face UT Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 17 and close-out the home stand against New Mexico State two days later.

UVU is currently in a four-way tie for last place with Seattle University, New Mexico State and Chicago State in WAC standings.  The Wolverines hope to slip out of that last place tie by beating Seattle on Saturday.

Photo courtesy of: UVU Athletics