OREM — The game was dubbed a rematch of the 2017 Western Athletic Conference semifinal that went to four overtimes.

And for 20 minutes, Utah Valley and Cal State Bakersfield made it look like fans were in for another thriller.

However, there was not going to be any extra time needed to decide a winner Saturday night in the UCCU Center.

UVU used a 10-0 run to start the second half and then cruised to a dominating 75-42 win over the Roadrunners from Cal State Bakersfield.

"I genuinely could not be prouder of my guys," Wolverines coach Mark Pope said. "Tonight, we had a tricky first half. We were playing great and playing Bakersfield, who I haven't beat in my tenure here … and all these guys did in the second half was lock it down and played great."

After a first half that went back and forth and saw UVU go into the locker room with a 26-25 lead, the WAC opener for both teams looked eerily similar to the four-overtime thriller last March.

In the WAC semifinal game, CSU Bakersfield led 26-24 at halftime.

But the heavens opened and smiled down on the Wolverines to start the second half. UVU was not about to let CSU Bakersfield win for the seventh straight time in the series.

Brandon Randolph hit a layup, and from there the rout was on.

Kenneth Ogbe made his mark on the game early in the second half.

Ogbe took off down the lane and threw down a two-handed dunk in traffic that gave UVU a 34-25 lead with 17:50 to play.

"I think it was really our defense that started everything," Ogbe said. "Every time we got a stop, that really gave us energy. And then, the offense, it comes to us. When we focus on playing defense and locking down their guys, then our offense comes and we don't have to worry about it."

That defense forced seven Roadrunner turnovers and held CSU Bakersfield to just 27 percent shooting in the second half.

It was the hustle plays that UVU dominated at in the second half, as well.

UVU outrebounded the Roadrunners 19-10, had eight assists compared to five for the ’Runners, and outscored the ’Runners 16-12 in the paint.

The Wolverines shot a blistering 63 percent from the field and were 21 of 26 at the free-throw line. UVU was just 3 of 4 from the charity stripe in the first half.

"We all felt that frustration (from the first half)," Pope said. "You feel all those things going into halftime and so the one thing I told my guys was 'listen, this is the opportunity that we prepare for all the time … we've been preparing for what do we do when things go wrong. How do we manage frustration? How do we overcome adversity?' We had players that came out and made a difference in the second half. It was special."

The game got a little chippy in the second half, too.

Randolph recorded a steal, and as he was going in for a layup, CSU Bakersfield guard Rickey Holden grabbed Randolph around his neck to pick up a flagrant foul.

Later in the second half, Jerrelle DeBerry came down with a rebound and after being fouled by Justin Davis, got into it with Davis and Shonn Briggs. Davis, Briggs and DeBerry were all called for a technical foul.

WAC Semifinals

Utah Valley falls in WAC Tournament-record 4 overtimes to top-seeded Bakersfield

Kenneth Ogbe and Ivory Young each scored 15 points, and Isaac Neilson added a career-high 16 rebounds as Utah Valley men’s basketball team lost to top-seeded Cal State Bakersfield 81-80 in the first quadruple overtime game in WAC Tournament history.

However, DeBerry got to shoot four free throws due to the personal foul by Davis and the unsportsmanlike foul that was called on the play.

DeBerry knocked down all four and UVU cruised to the big win.

Five Wolverines finished in double digits. Jake Toolson finished with a team-high 15 points.

Randolph finished with 13 points, DeBerry finished with 12 points, Ogbe with 11 points and Conner Toolson with 10 points.

The 12-5 start is the best start in the NCAA Division I era for UVU. It is also the first time under Pope that UVU has won its conference opener.

Manyang goes down in first half

UVU got a major scare in the first half. Seven-footer Akolda Manyang went down with an ankle injury at the 12:13 mark of the first half and didn't return for the rest of the night.

"That's just the game of basketball," UVU guard Jake Toolson said. "Guys are going to feel different ways. AK, yeah, came down, sprained his ankle. We just had that next-play mentality. We got guys that step up, and we all came together and really did this one together tonight."

Manyang is averaging 14.5 points per game and nine rebounds a night.

Next up for UVU are home games against UMKC on Thursday and Chicago State on Saturday.

Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias

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