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OREM — Facing a charging Utah Tech team that had won six games in a row in an in-state rivalry showdown, the most important play made by double-digit scorer Trey Woodbury may have been a pass.
With Utah Tech threatening and 3:29 left on the clock, Woodbury dished to Le'Tre Darthard for his second 3-pointer, and the duo finished with 38 points to help the Wolverines hold off their in-state WAC rivals 71-60 and stretch their winning streak to eight games in front of an announced crowd of 2,400 fans Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center.
Woodbury finished with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Darthard added 18 points and six boards. Justin Harmon had 10 points and two assists for Utah Valley (11-4, 2-0 WAC), which shot just 45% from the field but held Utah Tech to 36% and 3-of-14 from deep.
But every time Woodbury was put in a decision-making situation, the UNLV transfer made the right call. He shot 8-of-12 from the field, 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and dished out a game-high assists for a Wolverines side that never trailed.
"Trey Woodbury is like having an extension of the coaching staff on the floor at all times," UVU coach Mark Madsen said. "He was here in our first year, going on four years here, and the relationship that Trey and I have lets him see things on the court and communicates with us in real time. Trey Woodbury really is like having a second coach on the floor."
With the win, the Wolverines polished off a perfect record in the month of December, an 8-0 record that included wins over BYU, Oregon and Sam Houston State before dropping the ball on Old Hammer rivals Utah Tech before Times Square started up a single camera. Utah Valley hasn't lost since an 87-69 setback Nov. 26 at Boise State.
Isaiah Pope led Utah Tech with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Jacob Nicolds added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Trailblazers (9-6, 1-1 WAC).
And the newly rebranded Utah Tech didn't make things as easy as an 11-point final score might suggest.
"That was a dog fight," Madsen said. "That game was much closer than 71-60; Utah Tech has a phenomenal program and continues to build every year."
With two teams on winning runs of at least six games, Utah Valley connected on 11 of its first 20 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers by Woodbury, en route to a 25-14 advantage midway through the second half.
Fresh off a 20-point game in a win over Texas-Rio Grande Valley, Pope had 8 points, four rebounds and three assists in the first half as Utah Tech cut the deficit as low as five.
But Woodbury had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists at the break, including his fourth triple as time expired, to lift the Wolverines to a 44-33 halftime lead as UVU shot 50% from the field, allowed just two offensive rebounds in a 20-17 edge on the glass, and added 13 points off eight turnovers before the break.
"For me, it's always more exciting to get an assist," Woodbury said. "That's my play style; I just get excited when guys hit shots.
"That's everything we preach in practice and everything we work on: share the ball, move it, and work it side by side. We have a lot of options."
Utah Tech limited the Wolverines to just 2-of-6 from the field, and trimmed the deficit all the way to 4 points on Frank Staine's triple, 48-44, with 14:09 remaining.
Former Lehi standout Noa Gonsalves cut the deficit to 56-52 with a 3-pointer midway through the second half, starting a 7-0 run where the Trailblazers held Utah Valley scoreless for more than three minutes to cut the deficit to a single possession, 56-54, with 7:22 remaining. But that was as close as Utah Tech would get, after Tim Fuller's pass found Woodbury to break the drought, Woodbury later found Darthard, and the Wolverines closed out the game with a 13-3 run.
"That's the sign of a good team: when we're going into the stretch, going on a 9-0 run and being able to get stops," Woodbury said. "Those last 3-4 minutes where we went on a run, it feels good, and we've got to just continue to play like that, play hard, and good things can happen."
