OCR Text |
Show SPORTS VOLUME LH ISSUE 26 Thunder T Boldt Jonathan Boldt March not quite madness March ushers in one of the greatest periods of the sporting year and madness ensues on campuses all around the nation. Brackets are filled out and wagers are made. Students and professionals alike play hooky and our nation comes to a complete standstill. It's not long, however, until brackets are busted and 90 percent of betters have lost their money and we all go back to work. For UVU students, this excitement was busted before the season even began. There are 31 conferences with automatic bids for their champion, ranging from wellknown to "who the heck is that?" Of course there are the ACC's and Big 12's of the world and then there are the MAAC's and Ohio Valley Conferences. There are the well-known unknowns, like the Ivy League and there are the conferences like the Southland that only a handful of the most die-hard fans could name a team from. (Isn't Southland a show on TNT?) For all the conferences out there, the only insignificant ones end up being those without an automatic bid. For those keeping score at home that means Valparaiso or (insert your favorite underdog here) one, Utah Valley zero. This year's men's basketball team has some real talent and not only found a way to put together one of the nation's longest winning streaks but did it in a way that entertained anyone that made it out to a game. It's pointless to argue they deserve to be playing instead of a 13-18 Western Kentucky team because let's be honest, even if they took their spot it would most likely be a game against a No. 1 seed and a speedy exit. Deserving or not, what brings fans and teams together is pushing through and having a shot at the tournament. Hope that your team can make it and then maybe, just maybe, make some noise and be one of those Cinderella teams and bring a level of fan support to this university that has never been seen before. Head coach Dick Hunsaker has developed this program to the point where it is ready to take the next step and if UVU hopes to keep him around they will need to get him a bigger sandbox to play in. Being competitive is what brings excitement for a team, and when the team wins 20-plus games a year and never has a shot for postseason action, it's time to raise the level of competition. The WAC may have said no, but the Great West Conference has got to go. I'm not saying changing conferences would all of a sudden take the team from 2,000 fans a night to 20,000, but hope sells. Just ask President Obama. Jonathan Boldt can be reached at jonboldt@gmail. corn or follow him on Twitter @jboldt24 CONTACT, MARCH 12, 2012 WWW.UVUREVIEW.COM Comeback falls short No. 1 ranked men's hoops falls in GWC first round By Matt Petersen Sports Editor It's hard to quantify how far the UVU men's basketball team fell in their semifinal loss to NJIT, but here's an attempt: They went from winning 13 games in a row to dropping two straight They failed to win a game in the Great West Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed for the second year in a row. Against NJIT, they led by as many as 11, trailed by as many as nine and came back to force overtime before losing 88-78. Yet it wasn't the numbers, stats or facts that gnawed at head coach Dick Hunsaker the most following the game. It was knowing the five seniors responsible for 39 NCAA wins in two years had played their last game. "I just feel bad that the five seniors have to have that feeling," Hunsaker said. "It stings, it deeply stings for those five kids. They've done a lot for Utah Valley University and representing our basketball program. We've been a competitive team for two consecutive seasons... actually the two best Division I seasons we've had at Utah Valley, and I give a lot of credit to those five seniors. Each of them reacted differently as the overtime deficit grew. Geddes Robinson continued to fight for offensive rebounds, hoping hard work would yield the result he had seen so often this season. Isiah Williams tried to shoot the Wolverines back into the game, searching for one more signature moment in his home town of Chicago. In the end, however, a defensive sequence from Keith Thompson may have said GWC TOURNAMENT B4 COURTESY OF UVU ATHLETICS Keith Thompson leaves it all on the floor against NJIT in GWC tournament action. Return to Chicago Read on B2 Isiah Williams and Kevin Woods get a final chance to show off for their home town. UVU REVIEW.COM ONLINE SPECIAL COVERAGE GREAT WEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT UP-TO-DATE COVERAGE/ANALYSIS • PHOTOS • VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS • PODCASTS Ground game gives club football season opening victory By Sam Hancock Sports Writer KEVIN BRYAN/UVU REVIEW The fledgling Wolverine football team chalks up a win in their season opener. The UVU football team is not going to get too fancy with their offense one game into the season. Their style is simple: run, run and then run some more. The Wolverines look like they will be a monster to stop, with speed in all positions and particularly their run game. They can beat teams to the outside with quick backs and receivers or with their dual threat quarterback. It is still early in the season, but there doesn't seem to be a team that can keep up with them. Unlike the football we are accustomed to, the club team plays with only nine players and three linemen on the field. With a narrower field than normal gridirons, teams have to be fast to get to the outside and beat the defense. The team was able to gain over 200 yards on the ground in their season opener against Ibexs, including over 80 yards from their featured back James Andersen. Anderson has the quickness to get by just about anybody. He is relentless in his running attack and can wear teams down by making them chase him all around the field. Anderson, who scored three touchdowns in the game, doesn't claim that his FOOTBALL B3 Wilson suffers broken nose, qualifies for nationals By Garrett Coleman Sports Writer It's been a long, hard and grueling season for the UVU wrestling team. For Josh Wilson (149 pounds) all of that hard work and dedication will pay off as he takes on the nations best in the 2012 NCAA wrestling nationals. Wilson wrestled well in the 2012 NCAA West Regional tournament March 2-4, placing second and clinching his spot in nationals. The regional tournament was not an easy task for the No.14 wrestler in the nation. After a first-round bye and a victory that followed, Wilson wrestled the No.1 seeded Cole VanOhlen of Air Force to determine first place. Early in the match, Wilson took a knee to the face, breaking his nose. "I dove underneath his legs and his leg just smashed my face," Wilson said. "It happened in the first round, and I didn't even notice it or know my nose was broken." Wilson wrestled on, and the match was still tied 1-1 in the third period. Wilson tried to take advantage of an opportunity to take his opponent down and take the lead. Unfortunately the advantage went to VanOhlen as he earned the points and took a very close match, 4-1. The road had gotten a bit bumpier for Wilson following the loss. In this tournament, a match was held to determine who the "true" second place was. "It was the hardest thing I had to do all day," Wilson said. "I was so close to winning conference and achieving that goal and devastated because I was so close. Because of a mistake I had to turn around and wrestle in a half-hour and still focus on getting to nationals." Wilson faced off against Mark Erickson of North Dakota State, and defeated him 6-1, which qualified him for the first time for the national tournament. Wilson is now ready as ever to go to nationals and make a WILSON B3 PHOTO BY NATHAN GRILL/UVU REVIEW Josh Wilson playing through pain in push for nationals. SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS DESIGNER petersensports@gmail.com gonzamatic@gmail.com MATT PETERSEN ERIC GONZALEZ FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! @UVU_SPORTSDESK |