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POCATELLO — After a rough start to the season, particularly on the road in which Utah Valley went 1-5, the Wolverines were determined to come back to Orem with a win in its final road nonconference game.
Utah Valley used a 12-1 run over the final six minutes to take down Idaho State 70-56 to improve to 6-6 on the season.
It was the Carter Welling show Wednesday, as he led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while also grabbing nine rebounds and three blocks in the effort.
It was also a notable performance from Jackson Holcombe who poured in a career-best 12 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes of play. Holcombe's previous career-best in points and minutes came in the 80-57 win over North Dakota where he had 9 points, eight rebounds in 17 minutes.
Holcombe has filled the role of Ethan Potter who has not played since the loss at Stanford in early December.
Late in the first half, Utah Valley spurred a quick 13-5 run to take a 30-22 lead just before the halftime break, but the Bengals made it a close game and cut the deficit to 4 heading into the second half, setting up an eventful final 20 minutes.
Welling had a strong first half, pouring in 16 of his 23 points in 14 minutes of play.
The Bengals and Wolverines traded blows early on, with Idaho State holding onto a slim 47-46 lead with just over 13 minutes to go. Holcombe and Welling scored the next 9 points for Utah Valley while holding the Bengals to just 9 points the rest of the game.
The Wolverines shot 43% from the field and made 10 of their 14 free-throw attempts.
It was a much-needed win for Utah Valley who still has two games left before nonconference play wraps up. Utah Valley will start a four-game home stretch against three WAC opponents and one against Bethesda.
