OREM, Utah—Brandon Randolph scored a team-high 18 points and Isaac Neilson recorded a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team in a 74-69 setback to WAC leader New Mexico State on Saturday night in front of a 6,246 fans at the UCCU Center.
 
The loss drops the Wolverines to 10-11 overall on the season and 2-4 in WAC play. The win marks the 18th-straight victory for New Mexico State, which improves to 20-2 overall and 7-0 in league play.
 
Randolph hit a layup to give Utah Valley a four-point edge, 67-63, with just 2:03 to play. New Mexico State then responded with nine unanswered points over the final two minutes to secure the 74-69 win.
 
"Well, I thought the guys played probably 25 minutes of good basketball," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope. "We just didn't make plays down the stretch, offensively or defensively. We missed free-throws, and we missed defensive assignments. We made some great plays at the rim to go up four, but then we gave up the coast-to-coast uncontested lay up where we fouled after the shot had gone up. It's breakdowns like that that cost you against a team that has won 18 games in a row now. They've won 18 games in a row for a reason, and we didn't win the game for a reason. We've just got to execute better down the stretch.
 
A pair of Ivory Young threes and another from Jared Stutzman helped Utah Valley jump out to a 9-4 lead to open the game. UVU and NM State then played through three ties and nine lead changes before the Wolverines went on an 11-4 run over the final five minutes of the half to take a 38-31 lead into the break.
 
UVU led by as many as nine points early in the second half, taking a 42-33 lead with 18:07 remaining in the game. New Mexico State went on a 16-4 run over a five-minute span to tie the game, 52-52, at the 9:47 mark. The two teams then played through three ties and six lead changes before the Aggies secured the game with the 9-0 run over the last two minutes to secure the road win.
 
Randolph scored his 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 clip from beyond the arc. He also knocked down 2-of-3 shots at the free throw line and collected three steals and three assists.
 
Neilson recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The junior forward knocked down 7-of-9 shots from the field and registered a pair of blocks.
 
Kenneth Ogbe and Ivory Young were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Ogbe hit 5-of-9 shots from the field while Young connected on 4-of-6 shots with three three-pointers.
 
As a team, Utah Valley out-shot NM State with a 49.1 percent (28-of-57) clip. The Aggies hit 46.0 percent (29-of-63) shots from the field. The Wolverines scored a season-high 44 points in the paint compared to NMSU's 36 points. NM State outrebounded UVU 44-25 on the night.  
 
Utah Valley now heads out on the road for a matchup against WAC foe Seattle U in the Emerald City on Saturday, Feb. 4. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. (MST).   The game will be broadcast locally in Utah on KMYU.