Utah Valley Men’s Basketball used an impressive second half to dominate Cal Baptist on the road, securing their second road victory of the season and first conference road win.
Utah Valley started hot against the Lancers, taking an early 8–4 lead into the first media timeout.
A strong start is what the Wolverines needed. Coming off an exceptional win over Abilene Christan last week where UVU showcased a 35–9 run over the last nine minutes of the game, they needed to keep the shots falling.
Utah Valley came into the game eighth in the conference standings, which is notable because only eight teams play in the conference tournament in Las Vegas. A win over the Lancers would give Utah Valley some cushion to the trailing ninth-place Southern Utah.
The quick start proved frustrating for the Lancers as head coach Rick Croy would be assessed a technical just seven minutes into the game.
In the first meeting this season between the Wolverines and Lancers, Utah Valley shot a blistering 0–8 from beyond the arc, but junior transfer Drake Allen ended that drought, nailing just his eighth 3-pointer of the season and gave Utah Valley a 12–6 lead.
Well aware of their need for a win, Utah Valley went on to hit six straight buckets, taking a 25–13 lead over the Lancers, prompting a timeout by Croy.
16 of the first 25 points for UVU came in the paint—six from Ethan Potter—and Utah Valley was looking to go 2–0 against CBU this year.
Utah Valley got its lead to 18, but CBU went on a 10–0 to trim their lead to 31–23.
Cal Baptist did start this game without their leading scorer Dominique Daniels who has been dealing with a knee injury over the last few weeks.
The game got much harder as the second leading scorer Blondeau Tchoukuiengo picked up his third foul in the half and was subbed out of the game.
While Utah Valley’s lead did get trimmed to single digits, they were able to create a 35–23 lead heading into the second half.
Up until the game against ACU on Feb. 10, Utah Valley has struggled in the second half this season, with multiple blown leads and collapse in the final minutes of games. How Utah Valley would play the final 20 minutes could put them on a successful path for the rest of the season.
The Wolverines answered the call.
Utah Valley opened the half on an 8–0 run backed by Allen’s 4-point, two rebounds, one block, and a steal in the first three minutes of play.
UVU kept their foot on the pedal, continuing their greatness with a 20–4 run over the first eight minutes of the half, taking a 28-point lead on the Lancers.
The game never got close again, as Utah Valley hovered around a 25–30-point lead for most of the half, never allowing the Lancers to get back into the contest, defeating CBU 69–46.
This was the first win this season in black uniforms where the Wolverines were 0–7 up to this point.
Allen was fantastic for the Wolverines, scoring 19 points on 9–14 shooting with five rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes.
Potter continued his hot streak, shooting 6–10 from the field with 12 points, and 4 rebounds.
Trevin Dorius showed off, grabbing 13 rebounds and scoring two points but blocking four shots.
Utah Valley moved to seventh place in the WAC standings and the seeding system has the Wolverines bordering the sixth to seventh seed in battle with the Lancers.
The WAC uses a seeding system created by Ken Pomeroy to establish its seeding for the tournament. Grand Canyon is alone at the top at 7.89 as of Feb. 15 and Utah Valley’s win will narrow the gap between seventh and sixth place.
The next closest to Grand Canyon is Tarleton State at 2.18, nearly a six-point difference between first and second place.
For further context, Utah Valley is closer to the second seed, about a four-point difference, than second place Tarleton is to first place GCU.
As of Feb. 21, the Wolverines are 12–14 overall and 7–8 in conference play with the victory over CBU and Southern Utah as they return home this week to take on UTRGV on Thursday and UT Arlington on Saturday afternoon.
