The Utah Valley University men’s basketball team was defeated by the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons on Tuesday, 68-65. UVU’s Trey Woodbury hit a clutch fadeaway jump shot with three seconds left tying it at 65, however, the Demon Deacons found a wide-open Tyree Appleby for the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer on the other end.
Justin Harmon was the high man for the Wolverines with 19 points and Le’Tre Darthard had the hot hand with 18 points. Aziz Bandaogo had nine points and dominated the boards with 17 rebounds. Harmon was also #9 on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 for his dunk at the end of the first half.
The Wolverines jumped out to an early 9-0 lead to start the first half, however, WFU responded with their own 9-0 run, and the game was tied at 11-11 midway through the period. Woodbury struggled offensively in the first half, shooting 1-7 from the field. Darthard carried the Wolverines into a 30-29 halftime deficit, scoring 13 of his 18 points in the first half.
Harmon came to life in the second half, scoring 10 of his 19 points. Trailing 59-57, Woodbury hit a clutch jumper with 57 seconds remaining to tie the game at 59, eventually sending this game to overtime.
In overtime, the Wolverines jumped out to a quick 63-59 lead, however, the Demon Deacons responded with a 6-0 run to claim a 65-63 lead with just 25 seconds remaining. Again in the clutch, Woodbury rose up over his defender in isolation and hit a fadeaway jump shot with 3 seconds remaining. The Demon Deacons threw the ball the length of the court, where the inbounds pass was caught and subsequently the ball was kicked out to the three-point line where a wide-open Appleby was waiting.
The Wolverines struggled from beyond the arch in this one, shooting just 12.9% from three and 33% overall in the contest. Their 53-43 advantage on the boards kept them in the game, as they scored 15 second-chance points.
The Wolverines fall to 2-2 on the season as they travel to Jamaica to compete in the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic in Montego Bay on Nov. 18. UVU will face Morgan State on Friday beginning at 5 p.m. MT. The game can be streamed on HBCU.TV.
