OREM, Utah—Utah Valley University's second half comeback fell just short, 76-72, against Southern Utah at the UCCU Center on Tuesday night.
 
The Wolverines (3-5) found themselves down by 18, 56-38, with 10:34 left in the second half after a three pointer by the Thunderbirds' (3-0) Hailey Mandelko.
 
Utah Valley chipped away at the deficit, pulling within two with 13 seconds remaining. Patrice Toston led the charge with a three-point play with a bucket and a free throw. Mariah Seals made another basket for the Wolverines with seconds remaining, but SUU's Desiree Jackson made all six of her free throws down the stretch as the T'Birds walked away with the in-state victory. Jackson scored 19 points to lead all scorers.
 
"If we come ready to work hard we're going to be competitive and if we don't, we're not," said UVU head coach Cathy Nixon. "We didn't come out ready to work at all. I was very disappointed in our effort. I thought the second half showed the contrary, that when we work hard and play for each other, we're going to be a good basketball team. I hope that's the lesson that our kids took from that game tonight."
 
Toston led the Wolverines with 16 points and three steals. Rebecca MaWhinney contributed 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Seals added 12 points, Rhaiah Spooner-Knight chipped in 11 and Taylor Gordon finished with 10. Utah Valley's shot 60.7 percent in the second half after hitting just 21.4 percent in the opening half. 
 
With the game tight early, Southern Utah took control midway through the first half with a 9-0 run, closely followed by a 12-1 spurt to lead by as much as 17, 38-21. MaWhinney laid it in for one final bucket before the break with a half time score of 38-23.
 
The Wolverines will welcome Boise State on Saturday Dec. 6. The contest will be played in the PE Building and tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network.