JONESBORO (11-14-2007) ? The Utah Valley State Wolverines erased a one-point halftime deficit with a 20-7 run in the first nine minutes of the second half and went on to defeat Arkansas State 67-63 in the season opener for the Indians Wednesday night at the ASU Convocation Center.

Arkansas State (0-1) led 25-24 at the half, but in the second half the Wolverines (1-2) shot 65 percent from the floor, 66.7 percent from three point land, and 11-of-11 from the free throw line to spoil the opener for ASU.

“I thought the first three minutes of the second half was the difference in the game,” said ASU Head Coach Dickey Nutt.  “I thought the first 20 minutes we played pretty well, but we just couldn't sustain that defensive effort that we had in the first half.”

Arkansas State jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the game after sophomore guard Ryan Wedel connected from 22 feet to get the scoring started, but Utah Valley State went on a 15-4 run to tie the game at 15 on a 3-pointer from guard Ryan Toolson with 5:45 remaining in the half.

The teams traded buckets before ASU's Yima Chia-Kur broke the deadlock with a 3 -pointer with just under two minutes to play, and an inside bucket from forward Shawn Morgan with 1:10 remaining gave the Tribe a 25-24 lead at the break.

Utah Valley State opened the second half with guards Ryan Toolson and Josh Olsen each hitting from outside the arc to give the Wolverines their first lead of the game at 30-25, and built the lead to 12 at 44-32 before the Indians began to rally.

Banks scored eight straight for the Tribe, and Wedel added a three to cut the Wolverine lead to 49-43, and ASU made it a four point game at 52-48 with just over six minutes to play on a putback from Kewain Gant.

A steal by Chia-Kur led to a layup from Banks at the 4:45 mark, cutting the UVS lead to a pair at 52-50, but a triple from the left corner from Olsen pushed the Wolverine lead back to two possessions at 55-50. 

After Utah Valley State stretched its lead to seven at 61-54 on a jumper by Olsen with just under a minute remaining, ASU managed to close within three when Banks hit a pair from the free throw line, then came up with a steal and layup to make it 61-58 with 44 seconds to play. 

Three points was as close as the Tribe could get however, as the Wolverines went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to preserve the win.

“We knew going in Utah Valley State is an outstanding basketball team,” said Nutt.  “We knew they were very experienced and they are very solid defensively.  We have a long basketball season.  The thing I'm looking for is becoming more consistent, playing with a since of urgency and learning how to play a full 40 minutes.”

Banks led all scorers in the game with 25 points, while Wedel added 17 and Chia-Kur finished with 11.  Gant and Shawn Morgan added four points each and Ifeayni Koggu scored two points for the Tribe.

Toolson led four Wolverines in double figures with 20 points, Jordan Brady added 14, Olsen scored 12, and Richard Troyer finished with 10.

Arkansas State returns to action Friday night when it travels to Tulsa to take on the Golden Hurricane at 7:00 p.m.