Sometimes statistics can be misleading because they don't tell the whole story. They can be taken out of context, misconstrued, even manipulated.
Other times, they can painfully tell the truth.That was the case Tuesday as Utah Valley State College suffered a tough 97-89 loss to Sullivan (Ky.) College in the first round of the NJCAA national tournament.
One glaring stat - 51 percent shooting - bluntly told all for the Wolverines after their defeat that put an end to any national championship hopes.
Fifty-one percent would be considered a good shooting game from the floor, but as UVSC found out, when you miss 17 of 35 free-throw shots, it's deadly.
"Free throws killed us tonight . . . That's a big part of our loss right there," said freshman Danny Brotherson, who led the Wolverines with a game-high 24 points but also made just 6 of 13 free-throw attempts.
UVSC's misses from the charity stripe were especially costly considering the Wolverines, who average 71.4 percent, were playing catch-up for most of the game. Despite the foul shots, the Wolverines were quite effective in the comeback department.
After holding a two-point lead early on, UVSC found itself trailing 44-28 with three minutes left in the first half. The Wolverines then went on a 14-3 spurt to pull within five at the half.
The two teams continued to take turns of going on scoring runs in the second half.
Utah Valley scored the opening bucket but Sullivan answered with eight straight points to build an 11-point lead. The Wolverines again battled back within four and had a chance to cut into it even more. However, Ryan Lewis missed a pair of free throws and then a layup, and the Executives exploded on a 17-4 run to build a commanding 84-67 lead with five minutes remaining.
Still, the Wolverines would not give up.
Point guard Derrick Elliott hit a 3-pointer coming out of a time-out and then sparked UVSC by playing tenacious defense to cause several turnovers on a full-court press. Less than two minutes later, the blowout had turned into a game again thanks to an 11-0 surge by the never-say-die Wolverines.
Elliott then made a driving layup to trim the lead to 87-84 with 1:29 left. Sullivan's Ed Jenkins, a 6-foot-6, 275-pound brut, badly missed two free throws giving the Wolverines a chance to tie the game. It wouldn't happen, though, as Elliott just missed a 3-point try and then fouled out with 15 points on a charge the next possession.
"We were rolling and we had it going," said UVSC coach Jeff Reinert of the late rally. "When Derrick fouled out that really hurt us because we had the ball . . . It was pretty much the ballgame."
UVSC put up a few more 3-point shots but couldn't get any to go and Sullivan hit 10 of 12 free throws in the final 52 seconds to seal the win.
"We had our chances the whole time," added Brotherson. "If we would have made our free throws we would have had it - it's disappointing."
Freshman Brad Willden scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Brent Hawkins (12 points) and Nathan Hallows (11 points, six rebounds) also played well for the Wolverines.
Eric Martin led five Executives in double figures with 23 points.
Utah Valley (29-5) will face Spartanburg (S.C.) Methodist College Thursday at 11 a.m. in the consolation bracket. The loser will be eliminated, while the winner will still have a chance to place as high as seventh.
"The only thing we can do now is play for pride," said Reinert.
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
UVSC women win
The Utah Valley State College women's basketball team won its first-round game Tuesday at the NJCAA tournament in Tyler, Texas.
The Wolverines beat Vincennes, Ind., 85-63 behind Tricia Ferrin's 24 points. Ferrin was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line and added a pair of 3-pointers.
UVSC held Vincennes' Tiffany Park, one of the nations's top scorers, to one point for the game.
The Wolverines play tonight against John A. Logan at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals.