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OREM — In the midst of one of the best starts to a season in program history, Utah Valley hosted in-state rival Weber State for their first of seven in-state games this season.
After picking up a key win against future Big West foe UC Santa Barbara at Delta Center, the Wolverines looked to ride its three-game winning streak with two games left before conference play.
On Wednesday, Utah Valley was able to hold off a Weber State surge in the second half and pull away with a 90-72 win to improve to 9-3 on the season.
"In-state rivalry games are big. I thought our guys, offensively, were really good," head coach Todd Phillips said after picking up his 50th win at Utah Valley. "We had 50 of our 90 points in the paint, which was a big emphasis for us."
Junior forward Tyler Hendricks tied his career high with 22 points, along with three blocks, while his counterpart Jackson Holcombe continued his stellar season with 18 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the win.
"I feel great," Hendricks said. "I think we played really well despite them going on a couple of runs but we were able to stay in our heads and make sure they didn't take over the game."
Utah Valley shot 58% from the field and 40% from 3-point range in the win, and scored the most points against a Division-I opponent this season.
Edwin Suarez Jr. opened the game shooting 6-of-8 from the field, scoring 15 of Weber State's 20 early points. A key part to that success was Holcombe picking up two fouls in the first three minutes of the game, allowing Weber State to attack the Wolverines' small front court.
"We just stayed mentally ready. Our game plan was to shut him down, and Jackson is one of our best defenders, so we had to figure out what to do but we stayed ready," Hendricks said.
Suarez finished with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds in his best showing the season.
Following Holcombe's return with just under 10 minutes left to play in the half, the Wolverines sprouted an 8-0 run, which was followed by Weber State going on a 1-of-9 shooting slump. The Wolverines then connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to elevate a lead heading into the final four minutes of the half.
Weber State kept it close, however, on the back of Suarez, who was up to 19 points and accounted for 63% of the Wildcats point total in the first half.
To open up the second half, Utah Valley came out firing, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to extend its lead to 14.
That hot streak continued in the second half, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor, with four shots made from beyond the arc. Hendricks had nine of his 22 points in the first four minutes of the second half as the Wolverines took a 63-45 lead.
That lead soon evaporated when the Wolverines went on their own shooting slump and Weber State made three consecutive baskets to pull the Wildcats within 10 with 7:15 to play in the half.
Despite a last ditch effort from the visitors, the Wolverines maintain a lead and were able to take down Weber State.
