Woodbury, Utah Valley pull past Colorado to host NIT quarterfinal

SALT LAKE CITY — Trey Woodbury was not ready for Utah Valley's season to be finished.

And it isn't after Sunday night.

The senior UNLV transfer scored 25 points, with seven rebounds and seven assists to power the Wolverines to an 81-69 win at Colorado in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament at the CU Events Center in Boulder, Colorado.

Justin Harmon added 18 points and seven rebounds, and Aziz Bandaogo supplied 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for the Wolverines (27-8), who shot 56% from the field and never trailed after a 7-0 run to start the second half.

Utah Valley didn't shoot a free throw until Harmon made two with 1:24 remaining to push the Wolverines' lead to 77-67, but scored 18 points off 13 turnovers and edged the Buffs on the glass 32-30.

Lawson Lovering had a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds to lead the second-seeded Buffs (18-17), Ethan Wright added 17 points and four rebounds, and Tristan Da Silva scored 12.

"Our guys are playing loose," UVU coach Mark Madsen told ESPN 960 radio after the game. "We're kind of going the NBA route right now, which is cut down practice in half, make it fun, go longer film sessions and walkthroughs in hotel ballrooms, and focusing on the essential — and the guys are having fun being here."

The Wolverines will host Cincinnati at 7 p.m. MDT on Wednesday in an NIT quarterfinal on ESPN2, the first-ever such game hosted by the university. The Bearcats (23-12) received a No. 4 seed by the NIT selection committee but have not hosted since an 81-72 first-round win over Virginia Tech due to arena scheduling complications, including before a 79-65 win at Hofstra.

Both teams started hot, shot over 62% from the field, while blowing past the first media timeout en route to a 17-17 stalemate with 11 minutes left in the first half. The Buffs took advantage of a scoring drought by the visitors to pull away for a 7-0 run down the stretch of the half, but Ethan Potter nailed a 3-pointer with 4:01 remaining in the half to bring UVU back to even, 32-32.

Potter, the former Layton High standout and Utah's Mr. Basketball honoree, nailed a pair of 3-pointers for 6 points in the first half, and Utah Valley shot 6-of-11 from deep to keep the game tied at 38-38 at halftime. Woodbury led the Wolverines with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Harmon also shot 4-of-7 for 9 points and two assists for Utah Valley.

"I was so proud of our players out there," Madsen said. "Everyone that played played really, really well, and that's just phenomenal to see. ... I want to see every listener out there Wednesday night at the UCCU Center."

Lovering, who averaged 4.5 points per game before Sunday, had 11 points and four rebounds to lead Colorado, which outrebounded the WAC regular-season champions 18-12 before the break.

Woodbury had a thunderous dunk as part of a 10-2 run to open the second half for Utah Valley, and the Wolverines connected on six of their first eight field-goal attempts to lead by as much as 8 six minutes into the half.

But Colorado came back. The Buffs pulled within one, 54-53 when Da Silva scored his fifth-straight point to cap a 7-0 run, and Lovering tied the game at 58-all with 8:45 remaining.

But in an arena that had already swallowed up fellow in-state schools from Cedar City and Salt Lake City, Utah Valley didn't flinch. Not the team with 13 true road wins on the season, and a chance to make even more history with a 14th potential win at home.

Woodbury banked in 3-pointers from half court and took charges. Harmon followed up his career-high 32 against New Mexico with another double-digit scoring night. And UVU added a couple of consistent jumpers from Le'Tre Darthard, who had 13 points and four rebounds to send the Wolverines within a win of a return to Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the NIT semifinals.

"It's an honor to coach this group, it's an honor to be at UVU," Madsen said, "and I'm just honored to be here."

Related topics