Toolson nets 41 in decisive win

Newton’s first law of motion states, “Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.”

In the first two games of the Wolverines’ season Ryan Toolson has been an object in motion, and defenses have not been able to apply the force necessary to stop him.

Tuesday night versus Montana Western Toolson scored a school record 41 points to lead the Wolverines to victory. He broke his personal record of 38 points, which he shared with former Wolverine and current Utah Jazz guard Ronnie Price.

Utah Valley went into halftime with the lead 42-38 and started the second half on a 16-6 run; Toolson scored 11 of those points.

Senior Brett Ravenberg also made his presence felt with a career-high 10 rebounds, seven of them on the offensive glass.

“Obviously, Ryan Toolson gave a Herculean effort, and Brett Ravenberg gave a Herculean effort on the offensive boards,” coach Dick Hunsaker said after the game, “That team was scrappy, competitive, confident, and real. I give our kids all the credit in the world for battling, competing, and fighting.”

In the season opener against Northern Arizona it came down to the wire, but the Wolverines held on to win 68-62 on the back of Toolson who scored the last 14 points for UVU.

Toolson finished the season opener with 23 points and a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe.

“Ryan’s a wonderful free-throw shooter, the best in the history of the game,” said Hunsaker following the victory over NAU. “I thought the team played with intelligence in the closing seconds of the game, getting the ball in the right guy’s hands. That’s always a key to closing out games.”

The Wolverines try to keep their winning streak alive when they face University of Montana at home Nov. 25 and then they head to New York to face Binghamton University Nov. 29.