Utah Valley bounces back with win against future conference foe UC Irvine

OREM — After a disappointing last-second loss at Fresno State last week, Utah Valley returned home to face a future Big West opponent in UC Irvine.

Despite a lackluster showing from the free-throw line, going just 11-of-25 from the stripe, the Wolverines were able to get it done by outscoring the Anteaters 19-12 over the final six minutes to earn a 79-72 win over a future conference foe.

The Wolverines improved to 3-2 on the season, with all three wins coming in Orem.

Utah State transfer Isaac Davis was a force for the Wolverines, pouring in 18 points, four rebounds and dishing five assists in 23 minutes of play. His frontcourt partner Jackson Holcombe poured in 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and five assists. Holcombe also had three blocks and three steals in 32 minutes.

Despite being undersized in the matchup, as head coach Todd Phillips alluded to in the first game of the season, the Wolverines were able to outrebound the Anteaters 43-35 and blocked eight shots as a team.

The Wolverines sparked a 10-0 run that was capped off on a putback dunk from forward Tyler Hendricks. All 10 of the Wolverines points came from inside the paint, which prompted a quick timeout from UC Irvine coach Russell Turner.

"We need to get him (Hendricks) more touches. He's just a guy that's hard to take off the floor because he can hit a 3-pointer at any time," Phillips said. "They did a great job to take him away, so we have to counter that and work on some things."

Hendricks finished with a team-high 35 minutes, 8 points and five rebounds, with his brother and Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks in attendance.

Utah Valley's offense started to sputter after missing 6-of-7 shots and scored only 13 more points through the next 10 minutes of play, but still held a 25-15 lead — thanks, in part, to four blocks and two steals.

"We came in with a little energy to start the game and we just locked in," Davis said. "We were just having fun out there."

The Anteaters chipped away at the Wolverines lead, but Utah Valley didn't do themselves any favors by shooting 1-of-7 from beyond the arc and missing 15-of-21 shots over the last 14 minutes of the half.

Utah Valley was kept alive by second-chance points early in the second half, hitting multiple 3-point shots off offensive boards. Two of the 3-pointers came from former UC Irvine forward Hayden Welling, who finished the game with 14 points.

Trevan Leonhardt and Jackson Holcombe hooked up for a posterizing dunk to elevate the Wolverines lead in hopes to give the finale some momentum.

The Wolverines used the momentum to outscore UC Irvine 19-12 over the final six minutes, part of a 15-5 run, to give them a key nonconference win.

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