Men's basketball free falling

In Boise, Idaho for the season opener Utah Valley played to the bitter end before losing to Boise State in overtime 72-71. In the rematch Utah Valley lost control and after leading at halftime and fell 87-77.
It was Utah Valley's (3-7) fifth loss in a row and the team has as many losses as last year's team had all season.
Again Ryan Toolson led the way for the Wolverines with 22 points and Jordan Brady had a career high 20 to go with eight rebounds but the Wolverines were burned by turnovers and second-half 3-point shooting by the Broncos.
Reggie Larry led Boise State with 18 points and had a couple nice dunks in the second half. A half where Boise State shot 5-for-7 from behind the arc and 60 percent from the field.
Although Toolson had 22 points it came on just 5-for-16 shooting and 2-for-10 from 3-point range.
Teams know Toolson is a scorer and they buckle down on him defensively. Last David Heck and Matt Peterson could take some pressure off and score as well but this year Toolson is the major threat offensively for the Wolverines by far and although he is still getting his points it is coming on a lot more shots. He also played every minute of the game.
Toolson and Brady had little help offensively as Richard Troyer was 3-for-9 and 1-for-6 from 3-point range. Josh Olsen shot 1-for-8 and 0-for-3 from the 3-point line.
And as poor of an offensive game as several players had, the Wolverines were still in it if they would have held possesion and played a bit tighter defense. The Broncos shot 50 percent for the game to Utah Valley's 41 percent.

Other notes
Center Joe Walker was another Wolverine haveing a nice game shooting 4-for-5 from the field before exiting because of a hand injury. Walker came up holding his hand after a Wolverine foul. He stayed in the game for a few minutes but after he threw down a two-handed dunk midway through the second half he called for a sub and never came back in. Boise pulled away for good in what was a close ball game and led by six to 10 points until the end.

New floor, no good?
Utah Valley is 0-2 on the new floor it shares with the Flash. While there was many complaints about the old floor and all the dead spots at least the team was winning. Utah State was the team's only loss at home last year. This already two now.
The women's team will try its hand for the first time on the new floor on Saturday. Maybe they can do better after two straight losses.

Women's basketball

Hot, Hot, Hot
Forward Robyn Fairbanks (right) didn't have to take control in Utah Valley's first few games of the season so Julie McMurray and Sandy Marvin took more of the bulk offensively but Fairbanks didn't wait long to take control.
Against UC Irvine Fairbanks netted 26 first-half points and 36 total. She kept the Wolverines in the game when McMurray and Marvin struggled with their shots early on.
And in an overtime game against Seton Hall Fairbanks followed up her 36-point performance with 39 points to help Utah Valley remain undefeated.
A vote in the AP top 25 followed.
A 6-0 start for the first time in school history has some people taking notice a win against the cross-town Cougars will bolster that recognition Dec. 8 and a good showing 10 days later against Duke will definitely have folks paying attention.
This week the Wolverines travel to play in the Air Force Classic and will face 2-2 Ohio and then either Air Force or Hampton. The Falcons have wins against Denver and Army while Hampton is 4-1 with a win over Georgetown to open the season.
This has to be one of the best teams in school history and the good thing for coach Cathy Nixon she will have her top three scorers back next year.

Wrestle-off kicks off 2007 season tonight

Experience is always something that can help any team be good. Just having those extra reps and feeling comfortable in situations helps athletes compete at a higher level.
That's not to say inexperienced athletes can't make an impact. That is what the Utah Valley wrestling squad will need this year with 18 freshman on the roster.
Coach Greg Williams will count on a number of redshirt freshmen to help the team acheive success this season.
Things kick off unofficially tonight at the Shurian Activity center with the annual wrestle-off at 7 p.m.
The event is free and it gives fans the opportunity to see the team for the first time, the next home match won't be until Jan. 3.