Trailing 64-66 with 25.5 seconds remaining, Utah Valley guard Trey Woodbury stared down his defender, stepped back and buried a deep three-pointer, giving the Wolverines the lead and lifting them to a 71-67 victory on the road over the California Baptist Lancers Wednesday.
UVU has now won 11 straight games dating back to their Dec. 3 contest against Long Beach State. They sit in sole possession of the first-place seat in the Western Athletic Conference and have a 14-4 record on the season.
Despite their recent dominance, the Wolverines trailed for the majority of the game, trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half. Down 30-21, a three-pointer by Justin Harmon sparked an 11-2 run just before the half to cut the deficit to two.
CBU maintained their lead that they claimed in the opening minute of the contest through the 15:51 mark of the second half, when Le’Tre Darthard layed the ball in to tie the game at 43. The Wolverines took their first lead of the game on the next possession off of a three-pointer by Darthard.
From that point, both teams battled, trading baskets and neither team held a lead of more than three points. That changed when CBU’s Hunter Godrick hit a jumper with 5:48 to play, sparking a 7-2 run as the Lancers claimed a 66-60 lead. The Wolverines responded in a crucial way, as they scored nine unanswered points, including Woodbury’s game-winning jumper, to close out the game. With a chance to win the game and end UVU’s winning streak, the Lancers turned it over on the final possession and Harmon came up with a huge steal, leading to two free-throws from Darthard that would ice this contest.
Taking their winning streak back home, the Wolverines next host Seattle U, who is ranked third in the WAC but is still undefeated in conference play. That matchup will take place on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. MT and can be streamed on ESPN+.
