Utah Valley Eliminated From WAC Tournament Following Loss To ACU
Mar 9, 2022, 11:38 PM
(Photo courtesy of Utah Valley Athletics)
(Photo courtesy of Utah Valley Athletics)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Valley Wolverines were eliminated from the WAC Tournament following an 82-74 loss to Abilene Christian on Wednesday night.
Fardaws Aimaq recorded another double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds for Utah Valley in their loss to ACU. Le’Tre Darthard poured in 13 points, while both Jaden McClanahan and Connor Harding dropped 12 points apiece.
Airion Simmons led the Wildcats with 19 points. Tobias Cameron had 17 points, while Cameron Steele added 13 points.
UVU falls to Abilene Christian, 82-74. @UVUmbb’s run in #WACVegas comes to a close. #KSLVegasMayhem #GoUVU pic.twitter.com/L1nTQ7GFvb
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 10, 2022
Poor Second Half Dooms Utah Valley In WAC Tournament Loss To ACU
Utah Valley led for nearly the entire first half but didn’t have a lead larger than 10. They were able to keep Abilene Christian at arm’s length. UVU took a 41-37 halftime lead. Fardaws Aimaq had 10 points and four rebounds in the first 20 minutes of play. Jaden McClanahan was tremendous off the bench with nine points on a perfect 3-for-3 from the three-point line.
Connor Harding added seven points in the first half as UVU shot 60% from the field and made six of their 13 attempts from beyond the arc. ACU was led by Tobias Cameron with 13 points. The Wildcats made 56% from the floor and just 3-of-8 from the perimeter.
It was a different story in the second half with Abilene Christian outscoring UVU 45-33 to get the comeback victory. In the second half, Utah valley shot 43% from the field, 5-of-13 from beyond the arc and 10-for-12 at the foul line. ACU made 46% of their field goal attempts, 8-for-13 from downtown and 9-of-12 at the charity stripe.
Turnovers was a big issue with UVU committing 21 turnovers, while ACU had just nine. The Wildcats scored 24 points off of turnovers.
Utah Valley’s season ends with a 20-12 overall record and 10-9 in WAC play. They won’t make the NCAA Tournament but have a chance to play in a postseason tournament, including the NIT, CBI or CIT.
