Wolverines take sole possession of first in WAC with 76-69 win over Old Hammer Rival Utah Tech
UVU sweeps both games against rival Utah Tech and takes sole possession of first place in the WAC standings with a 9-2 conference record.
The Utah Valley University Wolverines completed the sweep against Old Hammer Rivalry Rival Utah Tech Trailblazers with a 76-69 win on the road. The Wolverines move to 18-6 on the year and 9-2 in Western Athletic Conference play after the win which gives them sole possession of first place in the conference.
The game was a back and forth battle as there were 14 lead changes and seven occasions when the game was tied. The Wolverines had three players score in double digits including Le’Tre Darthard’s game-high 26 points. A scorching hot second-half shooting performance helped the Wolverines pull away from the Trailblazers after shooting 53.33% from the field, 66.67% from three, and 73.33% from the line.
After a contested first half, UTU held a 33-29 lead, their largest of the half. After being down five with 2:45 left to play,the Trailblazers put together a 9-0 run capitalizing off of two Wolverine missed layups and two turnovers by UVU.
A 3-pointer directly out of the half by UVU’s Tery Woodbury ended the Trailblazers momentum and sparked the Wolverines offense for the second half. After gaining the lead one minute into the second half the Wolverines never looked back thanks to their 16-30 from the field, 4-6 from three, and 11-15 from the line shooting performance. The Wolverines extended their lead up to 12 with 3:21 left to play and rode it out for a 76-69 win to complete the regular season sweep over UTU.
The Wolverines travel back home for a two game home stand against California Baptist University on Feb. 8 and Southern Utah University on Feb. 11.
For a full team schedule or more information visit go.uvu.edu.
Josh is a senior at UVU, studying Communications and graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Communications in Spring 2023. Along with writing for the Review, Josh is a member of UVU’s PRSSA Chapter. Josh will be pursuing sports media after his time at UVU is complete.