OREM, Utah—Jaden Jackson hit a school-record nine three-point field goals and scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to a 98-65 win over the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Saturday night at the UCCU Center.
 
With the win, Utah Valley improves to 7-10 overall and 1-1 in WAC play. UTRGV falls to 4-13 overall and 0-2 in league play.
 
"Our guys took a big step tonight," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope. "For a good 12-minute run, it really felt like what we are aspiring to become. They played great. The guys were really aggressive in sharing the ball and making the extra pass to find the open guy."
 
Tied 6-6 at the 17:39 mark of the first half, Utah Valley went on a 21-0 run over a four-minute stretch to take a 27-6 lead with 13:17 left to play in the half. The Wolverines were able to hold the lead as the team took a 50-31 advantage into the break.
 
The Vaqueros got as close as 14 points halfway through the second period, but UVU responded with a 20-6 run to take an 81-55 lead with 5:33 remaining to play. The Wolverines then continued to extend the lead through the final five minutes to secure the win.
 
Jackson scored his 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field, including a 9-of-12 mark from beyond the arc. The nine shots from long range breaks the UVU record for threes made in a single game. Holton Hunsaker  (2012) and Ryan Toolson (2008) held the previous record of eight made threes in a single game.
 
"Jaden has been playing so well," said Pope. "He feels a real responsibility to this team and has taken on a big leadership role. He's playing great basketball. He's made a great transition to where he is really good off the bounce getting to the rim. That's made him difficult to guard."
 
Ivory Young scored a career-high 17 points, knocking down 6-of-10 shots from the field. The junior guard hit 3-of-6 shots from three-point range and went a perfect 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. He also pulled down six rebounds and dished out six assists.
 
Marcel Davis and Konner Frey were also in double figures with 13 points apiece. Davis toyed with a triple-double with nine assists and seven rebounds, while Frey pulled down six rebounds and tallied five assists.
 
As a team, Utah Valley recorded 28 assists on the night—the second-most assists ever recorded in a game by the Wolverines.  UVU connected on 57.1 percent of its shots from the field, including a 50 percent (15-of-30) clip from beyond the arc. The 15 made threes is just one shy of the UVU single-game record of 16 set by the 2008-09 team.
 
The Wolverines were perfect from the charity stripe on the night, connecting on a perfect 11-of-11 shots from the line. UVU's performance at the free throw line marks just the fourth time in school history that a team has gone perfect at the charity stripe.
 
Antonio Green led UTRGV with 17 points, while Dan Kimasa helped with 16.
 
The Wolverines now hit the road to take on WAC foe Grand Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 16 in Phoenix. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. MT.