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- Utah Valley defeated Utah Tech 79-77 in overtime, maintaining a 1.5-game lead.
- Tanner Toolson led scoring with 24 points, while Dominick Nelson overcame illness to contribute.
- Despite a strong start, Utah Valley struggled defensively, allowing Utah Tech to force overtime.
ST. GEORGE — Utah Valley opened up its road contest against Utah Tech on a 22-2 run over a six-minute period — backed by 11 points from sophomore Tanner Toolson — and looked poised for a comfortable win.
But a resilient effort from Utah Tech forced the game into overtime, where the Wolverines were able to hold off the Trailblazers 79-77.
Toolson led all in scoring with 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
It was a crucial win for Utah Valley, who now holds a 1.5-game lead over Grand Canyon for first place in the WAC standings with four games left in the regular season.
The Wolverines offense started hot, shooting as efficient as 70% throughout the majority of the first half. Despite the hot offense, though, the Wolverines defense struggled.
And Utah Tech did not go away with ease, trimming a 20-point deficit to just 9 with two minutes left in the first half, narrowly eliminating the strong start by Utah Valley. The Wolverines could have made it easier on themselves, but poor free-throw shooting allowed Utah Tech to chip away at the lead.
The second half was more of the same from the Wolverines, who struggled to prevent the Trailblazers from getting easy buckets at the rim and failed to score on transition buckets of their own.
Notably, it was a forgettable first 30 minutes for Wolverines leading scorer Dominick Nelson, who was reportedly sick prior to the game and did not practice with the team on game day.
Nelson was 2-of-9 from the field with just 6 points in those first 30 minutes, but was able to fend off the illness to finish with 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
The Wolverines hit the 40-point mark with seven minutes left in the first half, and scored just 14 points over the next 20 minutes of play, allowing Utah Tech to outscore Utah Valley 27-14 during that stretch.
Utah Valley had a chance at the final buzzer to win it, but Nelson's struggles continued as he was short and the game headed into overtime.
The Wolverines held a 77-72 lead in overtime before Hakim Bird hit a 3-pointer and then a layup to tie it up.
Toolson hit a floater that banked in to give Utah Valley a 79-77 lead with 23 seconds to go, giving Utah Tech one last chance to stun the Wolverines.
With a good look from beyond the arc, Beon Riley lined up a shot that just missed, and the Wolverines escaped a game they held a 20-point lead in just five minutes into the game
