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Show Monday February 9, 2009 Sports Briefs Toolson Named GWC Player of the Week Senior guard Ryan Toolson was named Great West Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday. Toolson, who was also named National Player of the Week by NCAA basketball icon and ESPN commentator Dick Vitale, averaged 42.5 points, 8.5 rebounds while knocking down 58 percent of his shots from the field as Utah Valley split a pair of games last week. "It was a tremendous Great West preview of budding rival institutions in the Chicago State game," UVU head coach Dick Hunsaker said. "Fortunately Ryan [Toolson] had the bigger-than-life game." The senior,'who collected his fourth weekly honor, scored 63 points in a four-overtime win against league-foe Chicago State. He had 42 points in regulation while playing all 60 minutes. His 63-point performance is the highest total for any NCAA Division I player in the nation this season, and his last two points of the game came with 2.3 seconds left on the clock for the win. The Gilbert, Ariz., native also grabbed 12 rebounds for hisfirstdouble-double of the season and chipped in six assists and finished the game 20-21 from the free-throw line. Toolson rounded out the week with 22 points and five rebounds at Cal State- Bakersfield. Kjar Named WWC Wrestler of the Week for Second Time Dave Iba/ UVU Review Kayla Burningham drives to the hoop as UVU cruises past Chicago State 79-50. Big win for Wolverines over Chicago State her numbers continue to climb each game as she finSports writer ishes out her senior season Backed by Robyn Fair- with UVU. banks' impressive 28 points As always, Fairbanks and 14 rebounds perfor- had the help of her Canadian mance, the Wolverines fin- teammate. McMurray put a ished off Chicago State with big 20 points on the board a 79-50 win. for the Wolverines, nine of The Canadian duo of which were three-pointers Fairbanks and Julie McMur- and 17 of the 20 were scored ray stepped up once again during the second half. Mcwith big performances. Murray also pulled down six Fairbanks upped her rebounds. scoring average to 25.3 as The first half ended with only a four-point difference, 27-23, in favor of the Wolverines. UVU and Chicago State both started out strong after the half began, but the Wolverines proved stronger by scoring 52 of their total 79 game points during the second half while Chicago State scored only 27 points. The Wolverines as a team hit 47 percent or their shots during the game. Senior Hollie Beaman also had a solid night on the hardwood. Beaman dished out 11 assists coupled with her 11 points, in a total of 33 minutes. Asumi Nakayama continued her consistent performance leading the Wolverines at the point, finishing the game with five assists and a total of six points in her 33 minutes. UVU increased to a fourgame winning streak UVU after the victory. The Wolverines will be on the road for the next few weeks and will return to defend their home court on Feb. 28 to take on New Jersey Institute of Technology. Toolson's hot hand warrants national attention any possible advantage— Toolson believes his shot willripthrough the net. And most of the time it does. On Jan. 29 the Wolverines took on Chicago State in the 'Windy City.' A routine game turned special when Toolson turned the Sports editor game into his own personThere are few things as al shoot-around. The stars graceful as a Ryan Toolson aligned for the senior shootjump shot. Perfect form. ing guard and he turned in a Perfect release. Perfect re- ridiculous 63-point outing sult. Whether he's wide to lead his team to a 123-121 open, in traffic or eluding four-overtime victory. defenders—who • routinely Utah Valley, in its first grab and bump him to gain year as a university and in close proximity to two locally-supported athletic programs in Brigham Young and University of Utah, has become a breeding ground for sensational basketball talent. In the wake of Toolson's performance, proverbial college basketball commentator and analyst Dick Vitale named him as the National Player of the Week. The Wolverine was also named Great West Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time this season. The unfortunate thing is" that Toolson's scoring out- burst won't go down in the NCAA record books because the Wolverines are in the final year of provisional status. Nevertheless, his smooth stroke should have every basketball scout in the NBA and overseas taking notice. Toolson has helped put Utah Valley on the map and has garnered respect to an otherwise average basketball team. The impressive thing is that every time the Wolverines take the court the opposing teams numberone concern is to stop Tool- son. The entire defensive game plan revolves around the Wolverines superstar and yet he still takes control of the game. What Toolson has done in a Wolverines uniform has been very impressive and the chance to witness his greatness is becoming limited. Utah Valley welcomes Chicago State to the McKay Center on Feb. 24 in a rematch of the four-overtime thriller, and after the last matchup, there's no telling what might happen. Schedule Monday, Feb 9 Thursday, Feb 12 Friday, Feb 13 Saturday, Feb 14 Men's Basketball Men's Basketball Wrestling Men's Basketball vs. Lamar University 7:00 PM at NJIT, Newark, New Jersey vs. Wyoming 4:00 PM at Savannah State University Women's Basketball at NJIT, Newark, New Jersey Women's Basketball at Chicago State University UVU's 125-pound sophomore Benjamin Kjar (Centerville, Utah/Viewmont H5) has been named the Western Wrestling Conference's Wrestler of the Week as announced by league officials Tuesday. Kjar defeated the No. 18 ranked Tony Mustari from Northern Colorado by decision, 7-4, Saturday evening as Kjar controlled the match from start to finish. Kjar's victory, which came in the final bout of the evening, sealed the win for Utah Valley in their first conference dual of the season as UVU downed UNC, 23-16. With the win, UVU won their seventh dual in a row to improve their record to 7-2 (1-0 WWC). Kjar, who has been ranked as high as No. 17 on the year, took early control in the matchup as he took down Mustari three times in the opening period to lead 6-2 after one and held on by winning, 7-4. With the win Kjar's season record now currently sits at 24-8 (8-1 duals). This marks the second time on the season that Kjar has been named the WWC Wrestler of the Week. He previously won the award back on Nov. 25. The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. Making headlines Phelps apologizes for behavior Olympic champion Michael Phelps was thrown into the deep end when a picture of him inhaling from a marijuana pipe landed in a British tabloid. However, unlike most athletes Phelps owned up to the wrongdoing, and because of that damage to his image has been minimal. None of his sponsors dropped Phelps as they accepted the apology he issued to the public. Woods resumes practice Tiger Woods, who has not played in a tournament since last June is back on the course although he hasn't announced when he will return to the PGA Tour. This all stems from surgery he underwent to replace the ACL in his left knee. Woods said he hopes to be back In time for the Masters, which takes place in April. |