OREM, Utah—Brandon Randolph led three other Wolverines in double figures with 16 points to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to an 86-76 win over WAC foe UMKC on Saturday night at the UCCU Center.
 
With the win, Utah Valley improves to 9-9 overall and 1-2 in WAC play. UMKC falls to 9-11 overall and 2-2 in league play.
 
"First of all it's a great win against a really great team, a veteran team that was coming off two straight WAC wins," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope. "It was a really gritty, unique game. Sometimes the weird games are hard to win, so with those two things together I couldn't be more proud of the guys and happier with the outcome and excited. It's probably realistically where we are right now in this conference."
 
Trailing 10-3 with 14:51 to play in the first half, Utah Valley used a 17-2 run over a six-minute span to take a 20-12 lead with eight minutes remaining in the half. UMKC out-scored UVU 19-15 throughout the remainder of the half as the Wolverines held on to a 35-31 lead at the break.
 
UVU held on to a four-point lead, 49-45, with 10:53 to play in the game. The Wolverines then extended their lead to 11 points, 64-53, on a Randolph layup at the five-minute mark. The Kangaroos were only able to get as close as eight points over the final five minutes as UVU held on to its lead to secure the 86-76 victory.
 
Randolph knocked down 6-of-12 shots from the field and 4-of-5 free throws for his team-high 16 points. It marks the third straight game that the junior guard has hit 50 percent of more of his shots. He also pulled down nine rebounds with two assists and a pair of steals.
 
Zach Nelson registered his fifth double digit scoring game of the season with 14 points. Nelson knocked down 6-of-9 shots from the floor and went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe on the night. The junior forward also pulled down four rebounds with an assist.
 
Conner Toolson and Jared Stutzman were also in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Toolson connected on 3-of-9 shots with a 6-of-8 mark from the free throw line. Stutzman was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range and hit 3-of-5 free throws for his 12 points. Ivory Young tallied nine points, while Kenneth Ogbe and Jordan Poydras each registered seven points.
 
As a team, Utah Valley shot 44.6 percent (25-of-56) on the night compared to UMKC's 38.6 percent (22-of-57) clip. The Wolverines out-rebounded UMKC, 45-34.
 
Utah Valley hit 73.8 percent of its free throws, connecting on 31-of-42 shots at the stripe. The 42 free throws are the most ever attempted by a UVU team in the UCCU Center, breaking the previous UCCU Center record of 41 attempts.
 
LaVell Boyd led UMKC with 22 points. Xavier Bishop and Broderick Newbill helped with 14 points apiece.
 
Next up for Utah Valley will be a Jan. 21 matchup at defending WAC Tournament champion CSU Bakersfield (11-7, 2-1). Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (MST). The game will be broadcast nationally on the American Sports Network.