Utah Valley Clinches Top WAC Spot With Win Over Arlington

OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley Wolverines took on the UT Arlington Mavericks at home in the UCCU Center on Wednesday.

The Wolverines last game was a 4-point road win over the Abilene Christian Wildcats. The Mavericks last game was a 2-point win over the Utah Tech Trailblazers.

Utah Valley came into the match looking for a win to secure their spot at the top of the Western Athletic Conference.

First Half

UVU came out of the gates hot. They hit two of their first three shots from deep.

#0 Justin Harmon with the 3! pic.twitter.com/BCCro78Wkb

— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) March 2, 2023

Tim Fuller led the way for the Wolverines early. He made a three and converted an and-one.

#5 Tim Fuller with the Big Time Block pic.twitter.com/hqoGfbYcD1

— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) March 2, 2023

The Mavericks were able to keep it close. Halfway through the first half, Utah Valley led, 21-15.

Tim Ceasar had a nasty putback slam for his first points of the night.

#2 Tim Ceaser with the Poster Dunk pic.twitter.com/tV1ML6YawM

— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) March 2, 2023

Ceasar continued to be impactful after subbing in. He hit a three and play some great defense.

#2 Tim Ceasear with the 3 pic.twitter.com/FNtkcsAX9P

— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) March 2, 2023

UT Arlington fought back to take the lead just before halftime.

Aziz Bandaogo made sure that Utah Valley had momentum going into the half. He threw down a massive two-hand putback dunk at the buzzer.

The dunk gave UVU a 1-point lead going into the half, 32-31.

Aziz Bandaogo with a putback throw-down slam at the buzzer to give UVU a 32-31 lead at the break! pic.twitter.com/hg18KtXfkb

— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) March 2, 2023

Second Half

The Wolverines didn’t allow a basket in the first three minutes of the second half.

#0 Justin Harmon with the Euro Step Finish And One! pic.twitter.com/DA8bmeMkQT

— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) March 2, 2023

Chendall Weaver stopped the bleeding for the Mavericks with a three-pointer.

Ceasar and Bandaogo connected for a highlight alley-oop in the second half.

Alley-Oop from #2 Tim Ceaser to #55 Aziz Bandaogo pic.twitter.com/o9NzecYdNq

— Utah Valley Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) March 2, 2023

UVU continued to pour it in from behind the arc.

#11 Tahj Small with the pump fake 3 pic.twitter.com/5bJKkQYWcr

— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) March 2, 2023

With ten minutes left in regulation, the Wolverines led by 11, 55-44.

Tim Ceasar checked in and got back to work.

#2 Tim Ceaser with another 3 pic.twitter.com/jOdrPixQtN

— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) March 2, 2023

Tim Fuller threw down a dunk with 5 minutes left.

#5 Tim Fuller with the Slam pic.twitter.com/9vhDZJpgfg

— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) March 2, 2023

The late press by UT Arlington wasn’t enough. Utah Valley clinches the top spot of the WAC with a 78-59 win.

Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.

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