Viva Las Vegas: Utah Valley heads to NIT semifinals with win over Cincinnati

OREM — If it felt like everybody not at Vivint Arena on Wednesday night was on the campus of the state's largest public university to watch Cincinnati and Utah Valley, it might not be far off.

A reduced-capacity sellout crowd of 5,289 fans that included Salt Lake Community College baseball coach DG Nelson (OK, he was a ref) and college basketball stats guru Ken Pomeroy might argue that Wednesday night was the biggest home game in Utah Valley men's basketball history — if for no other reason than the stakes of the first-ever NIT quarterfinal and national ESPN broadcast that originated from the UCCU Center.

And they probably have a good argument for a Wolverine side that was fighting to punch its ticket to the NIT semifinals in Las Vegas.

In the spirit of March ... ticket punched.

Trey Woodbury stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and Justin Harmon added 17 points and five boards as Utah Valley advanced to the NIT semifinals for the first time in school history with a 74-68 home win over the Bearcats in front of a raucous crowd at the UCCU Center.

Aziz Bandaogo had 15 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Wolverines (28-8). Tim Fuller scored 15 points to go along with 12 rebounds, and Le'Tre Darthard supplied 9 points for UVU.

Landers Nolley II had 23 points and seven rebounds to lead Cincinnati (23-13), and David DeJulius added 19 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Bearcats, who led for just 30 seconds.

"I'm so grateful for all the fans that came out to support us tonight," said UVU coach Mark Madsen, the former Los Angeles Lakers big now in his fourth season in Orem. "We have a phrase that we use in this program: Players make programs. And we have a locker room full of great players, great people and great students. And Trey Woodbury is one of the all-time greats to come through UVU, probably in any sport.

"Coaching Trey has been an absolute honor for all of us. His teammates love him, and we're lucky to have him and every man on the roster."

But for a moment, let's go back to that crowd, which provided a veritable sixth-man of energy. The Bearcats certainly felt it.

"They're a really good basketball team," Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. "We played Houston three times, and a host of other really good basketball teams -- some of which are still playing in the NCAA Tournament. And this is a really good basketball team with really good players and a heck of an environment.

"I've coached in some mid-major leagues, and I know it's not normal to get that every night. The fact that they built it up and had the year they had, I know how special that is. I would tell all these people to appreciate what you have, and make the environment like that every night — not just when Cincinnati comes to town in the NIT. That was a difficult environment to play in."

Playing in the last true home game of the 2022-23 college basketball season and just over a week removed from a debilitating loss to in-state rival Southern Utah in which the Wolverines gave up a 23-point second-half lead, Utah Valley thrived in front of the largest home crowd of the year after earning the right to host the fourth-seeded Bearcats with a win at Colorado and Cincinnati's arena construction.

Woodbury's dunk off a steal by Darthard sent that same crowd into a frenzy, and the Wolverines used the momentum of Harmon's 3-pointer moments later to surge to a 18-10 lead six minutes into the game.

Utah Valley had its fourth dunk of the night when Aziz Bandaogo flushed one through the net midway through the first half. Dunk Valley came to play.

But more impressive — even if significantly less flashy — was the Wolverines' defense. UVU held the Bearcats to just 27% shooting through 10 minutes, including a nearly five-minute scoreless drought en route to a 22-12 advantage.

Utah Valley led by as much as 10, and held the Bearcats to just 29% shooting before Nolley's 3-pointer with 7:33 left in the half propelled a run of three-straight makes and 4-of-5 field goals.

But the visitors couldn't get enough stops on the other end as Harmon had 10 points with a pair of 3s, and Woodbury added 12 more on 5-of-8 shooting with three assists en route to a 39-33 halftime advantage.

Bandaogo added 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks in the first half for the Wolverines, who trailed for just 30 seconds before the break.

Cincinnati erased the deficit in a hurry, when Viktor Lakhin tied the game at 41-41 to cap an 8-0 run less than three minutes into the second half.

But Utah Valley wasn't afraid to run, either, and outside of Nolley and DeJulius, the Bearcats struggled to keep up. Shooting 34% from the field — and just 24% from deep, with some wide-open misses — didn't help, either. When Woodbury connected with Harmon on an outlet pass and the Chicago native threw down on the fast break, the comeback was on, and Utah Valley wasn't going to let this one slip away.

"Any time he gets out on the fast break, you know something crazy is coming," Woodbury said of Harmon, who had a career-high 32 to carry the Wolverines' NIT opener at New Mexico. "We were just waiting for it; any time he gets a dunk, it's exciting.

"It was a big, pivotal play."

What a difference a healthy guard line of Harmon, Woodbury, Darthard and Co. make.

"They were as good as any guards I've played all year, and I've played against some very good guards," said DeJulius, whose Bearcats faced Arizona, Zavier, Detroit Mercy and No. 1 Houston, among others, in their final season in the American before joining the Big 12. "Hat's off to them."

Woodbury had another 3 as the Wolverines pushed the lead back to double digits with a 7-0 run with 6:37 remaining, and the Bearcats never got closer than 4 the rest of the way.

Utah Valley will face UAB in an NIT semifinal next Tuesday, March 28 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MDT (ESPN2).

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