IOWA CITY — Utah Valley State lost a heartbreaking 75-72 overtime game to Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday in the consolation game of Guardians Classic at the University of Iowa.
The Wolverines led for all but the final 20 seconds of regulation. With Utah Valley clinging to a 67-64 lead, UMESi Antonio McMillion converted on a three-point play to the game at 67 with 21 seconds left in regulation.
Utah Valley had a shot to win the game in regulation but an off balance 3-pointer by Sylvester Allison fell off the rim.
Maryland Eastern Shore jumped out to a 73-67 lead in the first three minutes of overtime. After fighting back to cut the deficit to 73-71, the Wolverines had a chance to tie the game at 73 but Allison made one of two free throws and UMES connected on its foul shots to seal the win.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us," Utah Valley State coach Dick Hunsaker said. "This was a terrific experience for us to find out what we need to do better as a team. We need to bring our hard hat and shovel and dig a little to work."
Matt Peterson had another nice game as he scored a career high 21 points on seven of 14 shooting. He played 40 minutes and also had five rebounds, one steal and two assists. On Monday, Peterson had 17 in a 13 point loss to Colgate.
Allison added 12 points and Ben Devoe scored 10 for the Wolverines. Pierre Thomas had a game-high eight rebounds.
In the first half Utah Valley State led by as many as 14 points at 27-13 with 5:28 left. Over the final five minutes UMES went on a 15-5 run to cut the Wolverine lead to 33-28 at halftime.
Utah Valley led by as many as 12 points in the second half before Maryland Eastern Shore tied the game with 21 seconds left in regulation.
Utah Valley State hopes to pick up its first win of the season Saturday when they host Texas State at 7 p.m. in the McKay Center. The game can be heard live on 960 KOVO and all students get in free with ID.