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OREM — Utah Valley was tired, head coach Mark Pope admitted.
Just 48 hours after an emotional win over league-leading New Mexico State, the Wolverines were just four points up on upstart UT Rio Grande Valley at halftime Saturday in Orem.
Fight through it, Pope yelled at his team: How they played in the first four minutes would determing another win or loss.
And that was all they needed.
Jake Toolson totaled a team-high 16 points with eight rebounds and three assists to lead the Wolverines to an 84-72 win Saturday night over UT Rio Grande Valley in the UCCU Center.
Brandon Randolph added 16 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Wolverines (19-8, 8-3 WAC), who are tied with Seattle for second place in the Western Athletic Conference, and just one game behind league-leading New Mexico State.
“This was a really important win for us, and we knew it was going to be really hard,” Pope said after the 12-point victory. “We knew they would come in here and battle, and our guys were carrying over fatigue from Thursday night and that big game.
“But the guys really shared the ball, and we did what we had to do.”
Connor Toolson supplied 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, and teammate Kenneth Ogbe had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Wolverines.
Nick Dixon scored a game-best 21 points for the Vaqueros (14-14, 5-6 WAC), and Terry Winn supplied 15 points and five rebounds.
Utah Valley led from the opening minute, when Jake Toolson’s 3-point play gave the Wolverines a 3-2 advantage 58 seconds into the game.
The Wolverines connected on eight of their first 11 field goals and took a 34-24 advantage on five straight points by Ogbe with 5:13 left in the half.
The Vaqueros posted a 9-2 run to pull within 36-34 when Dan Kimasa hit a jumper with 1:44 left in the half. But UVU ended the half on a 5-2 spurt — punctuated by Ogbe’s rim-rattling dunk in the final minute — to take a 41-36 advantage into the break.
“With the exception of UMKC, which we lost, I feel like our team has handled every game like this really well,” Pope said. “We knew we were fatigued at halftime, and we knew the first four minutes of the second half would be crucial. Our guys came out and performed in this first four minutes.”
Utah Valley opened the second half on a 12-2 run, capped by Connor Toolson’s layup that put the Wolverines up 53-38 at the 16:07 mark.
UVU just kept pulling away from there, into a tie for second place in the Western Athletic Conference — just one game behind New Mexico State, which lost earlier Saturday afternoon at Seattle.
UT Rio Grande Valley used a 7-2 run late in the second half to pull within six, 78-72 with 1:49 remaining. But the Wolverines closed out the game with six-straight free throws, and the Vaqueros could get no closer.
Utah Valley hits the road next week for a pair of games at Cal State Bakersfield and Grand Canyon. The Wolverines return home March 3 against Seattle.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST.
“I think our whole focus is to take care of business for us,” Pope said. “Maybe I’m wrong, and I should be thinking about something else. But I just want to go win the rest of our games — and that’s a monumental task.
“This road trip is going to be really hard for us.”
