NEWARK, NJ—In a game where the ability to knock down shots from the perimeter made the biggest difference, senior guard Ryan Toolson scored 15 points to lead visiting Utah Valley to a methodical 61-40 men's college basketball win over NJIT Thursday night in the Prudential Center.

The teams had a similar number of shots and an identical number of turnovers (11 apiece), but Utah Valley was 23-for-47 from the field (49 percent) overall and 9-for-20 on three-pointers, while NJIT was 17-for-49 from the field (35 percent) and just 2-for-17 from long range. The Wolverines shot 60 percent (12-20) in the second half.

Utah Valley, which won for the fifth time in the last six starts, got 13 points off the bench from junior guard Jordan Swarbrick, who shot 6-for-9 from the field. The 13 points against NJIT matched Swarbrick's career high, which he had reached twice before. Swarbrick was primarily responsible for his team's 21-1 advantage in bench scoring.

Josh Olsen of Utah Valley led all rebounders with seven.

NJIT got 11 points from freshman guard Isaiah Wilkerson and 10 from sophomore guard Jheryl Wilson. Wilkerson, who has played 15 college games, has reached double-figure scoring in each of the last 14.

Wilkerson and Wilson each played the entire 40 minutes, as did junior captain Gary Garris. Garris and Wilkerson shared the Highlander rebounding lead with six apiece.

Wilson earned praise from coach Jim Engles for his defensive work on Toolson, who came in with more than 2,000 career points, including 63 in a four-overtime game last month at Chicago State.

“We just couldn't make enough shots tonight,” said Engles. “But we executed the game plan and we were a tough team. Jheryl, who had a real tough assignment guarding Toolson. (Wilson) gave us everything he had and that was true of just about everybody.”

In game that featured a relatively slow tempo and a lot of halfcourt offense, Utah Valley, with its ability to cap possessions by making shots, gradually went ahead midway through the first half and then pulled away over the last five minutes for a 28-15 halftime lead.

Leading by at least 10 points throughout the second half, the visitors 9-0 run from the 10:45 mark to 8:02 of the second half to take a 49-30 lead. Swarbrick scored five points in the run and Brett Ravenberg capped it with a traditional three-point play.

Utah Valley junior Tyray Petty's jump shot with 9:27 left in the first half broke an 8-8 tie and his team would lead for the rest of the game. Later on in the half, the visitors held NJIT scoreless over the last 4:57 a five-point lead to 13, 28-15, by halftime.

The Wolverines pushed their lead over 20 points to 22, at 58-36, on Toolson's three-point bucket from the top of the key with 4:02 remaining in the game. Neither team scored again until Utah Valley sub Shaun Curtis hit a three-pointer, giving the Wolverines their biggest lead at 61-36, with 52 seconds remaining.

NJIT, which had not previously scored since the 5:25 mark got the last points of the game on a short jumper in the lane by Gary Garris and a breakaway dunk after his own steal by Justin Garris.

The Highlanders will host Chicago State on Saturday at 4 pm in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center. That game is part of a doubleheader that will see the NJIT women host their counterparts from Longwood at 2 pm.