OREM, Utah—Ivory Young scored a season-high 18 points and Isaac Neilson added a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team in a 77-71 setback to Grand Canyon on Saturday night at the UCCU Center.
 
The loss drops the Wolverines to 11-15 overall and 3-8 in WAC play. Grand Canyon improves to 19-9 on the season and 8-3 in league play.

"I'm proud of my guys, they played really, really hard," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope. "They played well together, they made great energy plays. They made some good quality plays but we can't turn the ball over twenty times, especially against a team that's not pressuring. At the end of the day you go into the last five minutes with a solid lead, you're right there in the game, and we just have failed on a regular basis now to execute. The game just comes down to slowing the high ball screens, and we've got to figure it out."
 
The first half produced six ties and seven lead changes as the two teams went back-and-forth. Neither team led by more than five points. Utah Valley held a 33-32 lead until GCU's Shaq Carr rebounded a Randolph miss and heaved it three quarters of the court as the buzzer sounded to give the 'Lopes a 35-33 lead at the break.
 
The Wolverines took a 43-42 lead just five minutes into the second half before going on a 9-4 run to extend the lead to a 52-46 advantage at the 11:33 mark. Trailing 61-55 with 8:20 to play, Grand Canyon went on a 9-2 run to take its first lead since the 19:37 mark, 64-63, with 5:47 remaining. The 'Lopes then outscored UVU 13-8 the rest of the way to secure the 77-71 victory.
 
Young scored his team-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including a 4-of-8 mark from beyond the arc. The senior guard also dished out three assists with two rebounds and a steal in 24 minutes of play.
 
Neilson's 10-point, 13-rebound effort marks his ninth double-double of the season. Neilson connected on 5-of-9 shots for his double-digit performance. The 13 rebounds marks his 13th double-digit rebounding effort of the season.
 
Brandon Randolph and Kenneth Ogbe were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Randolph also dished out three assists with a steal, while Ogbe pulled down a pair of boards with one assist and a steal. Andrew Bastien scored seven points and pulled down three rebounds.
 
As a team, Utah Valley connected on 44.6 percent (25-of-56), including a 33.3 percent (8-of-24) mark from long range. Grand Canyon hit 44.8 percent (30-of-67) shots from the field with a 46.7 percent (7-of-15) clip from three-point range.  GCU edged UVU 37-36 on the boards.
 
DeWayne Russell led Grand Canyon with 18 points. Joshua Bruan and Shaq Carr were also in double figures with 17 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Utah Valley heads out on its final WAC road stretch of the season next week. The Wolverines travel to play New Mexico State on Thursday and UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN 960 AM radio, which is also available on the web at espn960sports.com.