Daily Herald | Posted: Friday, December 23, 2005 12:00 am
The UVSC men's basketball team beat Montana Tech 79-54 on Thursday at the McKay Center.
Ben Devoe led the Wolverines with 21 points and seven rebounds.
After a scoreless first half, David Heck scored all of his 14 points in the first eight minutes of the second half.
"Ben settled in during the second half," said UVSC coach Dick Hunsaker. "The team did a better job in getting him the ball. He fought through fatigued and did well. David found his legs in the second half and played well."
Also playing well for UVSC was guard Chris Bailey. Bailey played 33 minutes and had eight points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and no turnovers.
"As the game progressed he had a nice statistical line," Hunsaker said.
The Wolverines shot 47 percent from the field and out rebounded Montana Tech 36-28.
The win didn't come easy. UVSC trailed early in the game by as many as 12 points at 21-9 with 10:53 left in the first half. UVSC then went on a 13-0 run to take its first lead at 23-21 with 6:52 left in the half after a basket by Bailey.
"They were a tough team," Hunsaker said. "I knew they were a team with offensive potential. Their ability to make the three can put a scare into you."
Montana Tech's last lead of the game was 26-25 with 3:09 left until halftime. UVSC outscored Montana Tech 7-3 over the final minutes to lead 33-28 at halftime.
The Wolverines opened the second half by outscoring the Orediggers 16-7 five minutes into the second period to lead 49-35. Their biggest lead was 25 points.
Montana Tech cut a 57-39 Wolverine lead to 57-47 with 8:56 left in the game. But UVSC countered with a 13-2 run to extend its lead 70-49 with 5:46 to play.
UVSC returns to action Dec. 28 against Weber State in Ogden at 5:45 p.m. This is the second meeting between the two schools this year. Earlier in December, UVSC beat the Wildcats 68-49 in Orem.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C6.