Men’s basketball bounces back with 30-point victory over ACU

Josh Green

January 18, 2023

Reading Time: < 1 minute Seven Wolverines scored in double figures in an all-around team win. UVU moves to 6-1 in WAC play.

Blaze Nield converts on an open three late in the second half (Photo courtesy of Josh Green).
Reading Time: < 1 minute

The Utah Valley University Wolverines defeated the Abilene Christian University Wildcats 84-54 in a Western Athletic Conference showdown held at the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah on Wednesdasy. With the win the Wolverines move to 15-5 on the year and 6-1 in WAC play.

After a tight first few minutes the both teams were tied at 11-11. Justin Harmon and Tahj Small went on to score the Wolverines next nine points and take a 20-13 lead over the Wildcats. The Wolverines would not trail again for the rest of the night. UVU gradually increased their lead for the remainder of the half which ended 36-22 in favor of the Wolverines.

Five minutes into the second half the Wolverines were up 49-32 over the Wildcats. A 12-1 run from the home team led by Aziz Bandaogo and Blaze Nield put the game on ice helping the Wolverines secure a 61-33 lead with 12 minutes to play. Both sides went on to score over 20 points in the remainder of the game, with a final score of 84-54. 

Seven Wolverines scored 10 points or more. Small had a game-high 13 points followed by Harmon’s 12 points and Tim Ceaser contributed 11 points off of the bench. Trey Woodbury, Le’Tre Darthard, Nield, and Bandaogo rounded out the other four Wolverines in double digits with 10 points each. Bandaogo also collected a game high 14 rebounds in the win. 

The Wolverines hit the road for a short two game trip against Grand Canyon University on Saturday who currently sits at 5th place in the WAC and Southern Utah University next Thursday, Jan. 26, who currently sits 3rd place in the WAC.

For a full schedule and more information visit go.uvu.edu.