Utah Valley Steals Win Over UT Arlington On Overtime Game-Winner
Jan 16, 2025, 10:53 PM | Updated: Jan 17, 2025, 10:33 am
ARLINGTON, Texas – Utah Valley basketball narrowly preserved its perfect conference record against the UT Arlington Mavericks in College Park Center on Thursday.
Despite being plagued with shooting struggles, the Wolverines were able to force overtime and then eventually escape with a win.
Last-second overtime game-winner in Texas! 🔥⏱️#GoUVU | #ValleyForged pic.twitter.com/LtsAaAOT2i
— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) January 17, 2025
Utah Valley Stuns Mavericks With Last-Second Layup
On a night when they could hardly throw a rock into a river, defense ended up being the saving grace for UVU.
The first half was about as close as it could get. The Wolverines held a lead for 19 of the first 20 minutes but never went up by more than four.
The vast majority of points came on the inside and in the mid-range as they shot just 2 of 6 from deep. Arlington had a three-point-heavy approach but they also by no means shot the lights out, finishing with a 34.6 percent mark from downtown.
As previously mentioned, defense was the difference. Utah Valley forced eight turnovers before halftime and took advantage on the other end more often than not.
The Wolverines took a 30-26 lead into the break.
Halftime in Texas!#GoUVU | #ValleyForged pic.twitter.com/9gORvU4ZIg
— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) January 17, 2025
The second half brought a much faster pace from both sides. Sophomore guard Tanner Toolson caught the hot hand, scoring 13 of his 22 points after halftime.
The Mavericks went on a quick run to retake the lead within three minutes and then held onto the advantage until around the midpoint of the half.
Utah Valley built its lead up to eight and stayed out in front for over five minutes. But, as to be expected, the Mavericks came charging back and tied the game at 58 with five minutes left.
Arlington’s run extended to 12-0 which forced a UVU timeout. The Wolverines struggled to get back into it and Arllignton was able to hold on to its lead into the final minute.
With 20 seconds left, Dominick Nelson drilled two free throws to make it a two-point game. On the other end, Utah Valley nabbed its eighth steal of the game and turned it into another visit to the charity stripe with four seconds left. Once again, Nelson went 2/2 to force overtime.
Arlington trailed for over three minutes in OT. They managed to tie the game once again with five seconds left off of an offensive rebound.
In the final seconds, Trevan Leonhardt went the length of the floor before setting up Jackson Holcombe with a late dump-off pass for an easy layup.
Jackson Holcombe with the overtime game-winning layup to keep @UVUmbb undefeated in conference play!#OneWAC x #WAChoops pic.twitter.com/SpNnmSrbLQ
— The Western Athletic Conference (@WACsports) January 17, 2025
With the 85-83 win, Utah Valley improved to 4-0 in conference play (12-6 overall).
Coming up next, the Wolverines will host the Utah Tech Trailblazers on Saturday, January 18.
