OREM — There is no way to sugarcoat what happened Tuesday in the final home game of the season for the Utah Valley State men's basketball team: the Wolverines squandered two chances to tie the score in the closing seconds of their 68-67 loss to Idaho State because they simply did not think ahead in terms of basic strategy.
Twice in the final six seconds, UVSC (14-13) had a chance to tie the score. Needing three points each time for a tie, the Wolverines inexplicably sabotaged their own comeback hopes on both occasions by taking and making a two-point basket instead of attempting a 3-pointer.
"I think that if you're sitting on the sidelines you could realize that a three-point shot is needed at those moments in time," Utah Valley State coach Dick Hunsaker said. "Kids sometimes have some mental lapses, and unfortunately we had them."
After Akbar Abdul-Ahad sank two free throws for Idaho State (12-13) with 5.4 seconds remaining to put the Bengals ahead 66-63, the Wolverines quickly advanced the ball upcourt to Richard Troyer. Instead of passing to a wide open Matt Peterson in the left corner, Troyer inexplicably made an uncontested layup even though less than two seconds remained in the game.
Abdul-Ahad made another pair of free throws with 0.8 seconds left on the clock for a 68-65 advantage. Peter Brown heaved an inbounds pass the length of the court to Pierre Thomas, whose shot at the buzzer counted. But because Thomas had set up shop in the key and not beyond the 3-point line, the basket only netted two points and the Wolverines lost by one. Despite this only being Hunsaker's fourth home loss in his four-year tenure at UVSC, the coach had only praise to offer for his team's effort.
"Hey, I was proud of our kids," Hunsaker said. "We battled, we competed, we fought; I thought we scrapped. We were alert defensively and came up with more loose balls than we have all year.
"Give Idaho State credit. They hung in there, and that's a good victory for them."
The Wolverines led 60-58 with less than two minutes remaining, but the Bengals scored six straight points to go ahead by four.
Abdul-Ahad was 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 20 seconds to help Idaho State preserve its lead.
Thomas led Utah Valley with 13 points and five assists. Peterson, Troyer, and Sylvester Allison each scored 11 points for the Wolverines.
David Schroeder led the Bengals with 19 points. Kasey Winters added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Idaho State.
UVSC travels to Northern Colorado this weekend for a Saturday evening game against the Bears.