OREM, Utah—Ivory Young scored a career-high 27 points and Jaden Jackson added 13 to lead the Utah Valley men's basketball team in a 78-74 setback to WAC foe CSU Bakersfield Saturday night at the UCCU Center.
 
With the loss, Utah Valley falls to 9-13 overall on the season and 3-4 in WAC play. CSUB improves to 15-7 overall and 5-2 in league play.
 
"Our boys just played so hard and we didn't have a lot of things go right for us tonight," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope. "We really battled and I'm proud of the way they competed against one of the top teams in this league. The next step for us is to add a little more toughness, saltiness and meanness so we don't fall on the short end of the stick. The next half of our schedule is really hard so if we can add those ingredients, we'll take another step as a team."
 
CSU Bakersfield led for the majority of the first half but never generated a lead larger than six points. Trailing 38-32 with 5:34 remaining in the half, Utah Valley cut the CSUB lead to just two points, 39-37, with 2:26 to go.  The 'Runners put in a layup at the buzzer to take a 39-43 lead into the break.
 
With Bakersfield holding on to a 10-point lead, 73-63, with just over two minutes remaining in the game, Utah Valley went on an 8-3 run capped off by a Young three-pointer to cut the Roadrunner lead to just two points, 76-74, with 14 seconds left in the game. A UVU foul sent CSUB's Jaylin Airington to the free throw line where he connected on both shots to help the 'Runners secure the win in the final seconds.
 
Young knocked down a career-high 10-of-15 shots from the field, including a career-high six shots from beyond the arc for his career-high 27 points. The junior guard also recorded two rebounds, one assist and a steal.
 
Jackson scored his 13 points on a 5-of-14 clip, including a shot from long range. Marcel Davis helped with nine points with six rebounds and six assists, while Konner Frey tallied seven points with eight rebounds.
 
Utah Valley shot 41.0 percent (25-of-61) from the field with eight three-pointers. CSUB connected on 45.9 percent (28-of-61) of its shots from the floor, including seven shots from long range. The 'Runners pulled down 41 rebounds compared to UVU's 36.
 
Utah Valley heads out on the road next week to take on UT Rio Grande Valley and New Mexico State. The Wolverines will take on UTRGV on Thursday before playing New Mexico State on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN 960 AM radio.