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OREM — After winning its last two games by 2 points each, Utah Valley returned home to face Seattle U, a series that has split games every year since 2020.
Despite trailing for the entirety of the second half, Utah Valley held Seattle U scoreless over the final three minutes to come out with a 61-55 win, moving to 11-0 at the UCCU Center and 12-1 in WAC play.
"Heck of a defensive battle by two of the best defensive teams in the league. Sometimes it feels like it's ugly, but I thought they had a great game plan," Wolverines head coach Todd Phillips said. "Our bigs were huge. They took some great shots and they were giving us some open shots."
A career-high 17 points on 4-of-5 shooting — 3-of-3 from deep — by Osiris Grady was key in Utah Valley's victory, paired with three other Wolverines in double-figures.
"I feel great. We just hit 20 wins and we are No. 1 in the WAC," Grady said. "We are just working through these last few games to get there."
In a game where Utah Valley scored its second lowest point total of the season, the Wolverines late-game heroics by Dominick Nelson and Tanner Toolson propelled them to a key victory in hopes of a regular season WAC title.
Nelson and Toolson both finished with double-figure scores and combined for 12 rebounds.
Utah Valley started hot on offense against Utah Tech on Thursday — scoring 22 points in five minutes — but struggled to find a bucket to start Saturday. The Wolverines scored just 9 points in eight minutes and was just 1-of-6 on layups, while taking several bad shots.
Although the offense was inefficient, Utah Valley was able to keep it close, trailing 12-11, through 10 minutes of play.
An 8-0 run — sparked by Kylin Green — gave the Wolverines life on offense; and suddenly, Utah Valley held an 18-13 lead with 7:45 to play.
Seattle U's key to staying in the game was offensive rebounds, grabbing seven in the first half alone, which allowed the Redhawks to score 12 of its 19 points from the paint despite both Carter Welling and Grady being on the floor.
The Redhawks fought back on a 15-4 run, sparked by back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 28-22 lead with just under two minutes to play. The Wolverines narrowed the gap, heading into halftime with a 30-26 deficit. The 26 points is the second lowest first-half total of the season for Utah Valley, and only the second time the team has trailed at halftime at home.
The Redhawks started to pull away in the second half, hitting multiple 3-pointers and prevented the Wolverines from doing anything. Ethan Potter's 3-pointer got the Wolverines within 4, but it gave Utah Valley issues defensively as the Redhawks pounded the paint on every possession.
The Wolverines had a pivotal 5-point run consisting of a Welling 3-pointer and Tanner Toolson tip-in, forcing Seattle U to take a timeout as Utah Valley trailed 47-45.
Utah Valley had a chance to take the lead but back-to-back turnovers allowed Seattle U to quickly reclaim its seven point lead with seven minutes to go.
Again, the Wolverines went on a quick 5 point spurt, with Toolson hitting his first 3-pointer of the game.
Finally, Utah Valley had broken the deficit seal, with Dominick Nelson hitting the biggest shot of the night, a corner 3-pointer to tie it up at 55 apiece.
Welling hit one of two free throws, and the Wolverines forced a shot clock violation on the ensuing defensive possession, sending the UCCU Center crowd into its biggest frenzy of the season.
Nelson missed a 3-pointer, but Toolson rebounded the shot and Seattle U elected to foul down one with 25 seconds on the game clock in a puzzling decision despite plenty of time left.
Utah Valley stopped Seattle U, and sent Toolson to the line for two free throws and the ballgame where he secured the victory.
