Utah Valley Wins 19th Straight Home Game With Victory Over Idaho State
Dec 19, 2018, 9:15 PM | Updated: 9:48 pm
(Photo by Utah Valley Athletics)
OREM, Utah – Utah Valley won their 19th straight home game with an 88-77 victory over the Idaho State Bengals.
Connor MacDougall led the way with 28 points including a perfect 12-for-12 from the field to go with 10 rebounds. Jake Toolson added 18 points while Connor Toolson and Benjamin Nakwaasah chipped in 11 points apiece.
They finished shooting 55 percent from the field but hit just three of their 19 three-point attempts.
Gary Chivichyan scored 23 points off the bench to lead Idaho State. Brandon Boyd added 16 points, Chier Maker and Balint Mocsan chipped in 12 points apiece.
The first portion of the game was back and forth before the Bengals jumped out to a 17-10 lead but the Wolverines chipped away at the lead by scoring four points. Idaho State put the lead back to nine with 8:06 left, 23-14.
After Idaho State kept the Wolverines at arm’s length, Utah Valley started a much need run of 16-2 to lead 35-31.
The run reached 21-4 in the last 5:39 of the first half and the Wolverines held a 40-33 lead at halftime.
For Utah Valley, they would keep the lead between 6 and 13 points in the second half as the Bengals have had a sliver of hope before the Wolverines would gain momentum back.
The Bengals had one last effort to get back in the game when they made 8 of their last 10 field goals and cut the lead to six but the Wolverines made their free throws and came away with the win.
Utah Valley improved to 9-4 on the season and have won their third straight game and 8 of their last 9 games. They will host Sam Houston State on Saturday at 2 p.m. on the KSL TV app.