Statesboro, Georgia—Jordan Poydras and Brandon Randolph each scored 12 points to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to a 74-49 road win at Georgia Southern in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational presented by FIVE FOUR on Wednesday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
 
The win marks the first postseason national tournament victory in Utah Valley history. The Wolverines even up their record at 16-16 overall and now advance to the CBI quarterfinals to take on Rice on Monday, March 20, at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas.
 
"This Georgia Southern team has only lost two games all season at home and they are hard to beat here," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope. "I'm really proud of this team. It's been a really good run. With the exception of a quadruple overtime game that we end up losing by one point, these guys haven't lost for a few weeks now. I'm really pleased with our defense. I'm really pleased with how we moved the ball and with our decision making on offense. We're getting better and better and that's a big reason why we don't want this season to end. It was a great night for our guys."
 
The two teams went back-and-forth to open the game, playing through six lead changes and two ties before Utah Valley took an 18-17 lead with 9:15 remaining in the first half. The Wolverines then used an 8-2 run over a four-minute span to take a 28-21 lead with four minutes to go in the half.  UVU continued to build on its lead as the Wolverines took a 36-25 advantage into the break.
 
Hayden Schenck opened the second half with a shot from beyond the arc to spark a 7-3 run to push the UVU lead to 46-28 with 16:17 to play. Utah Valley continued to push the pace as the Wolverines used a 15-4 run over a seven-minute period late in the second half to up the lead to 28 points, 72-44, with under three minutes remaining. The Wolverines cruised through the final two minutes to secure the 74-49 win.
 
Poydras scored his 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including a pair of shots from long range. The senior guard also pulled down a pair of rebounds and recorded a steal in 28 minutes of play. Randolph was impressive from the field, connecting on 4-of-6 shots from the floor, including a pair of threes. He went a perfect 2-for-2 at the charity stripe and tallied four rebounds and a steal.
 
Conner Toolson and Zach Nelson were also in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Toolson pulled down eight rebounds with two assists to go along with his 11 points. Nelson scored his 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 clip from the field.
 
Schenck was just one point and one rebound shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. The sophomore guard also had five assists and a steal in 25 minutes of action. Isaac Neilson led the Wolverines on the boards, pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with six points and a block.
 
As a team, Utah Valley shot an impressive 45.5 percent (30-of-66) from the field, including a 31.0 percent (9-of-29) clip from long range. The Wolverines limited Georgia Southern to 29.3 percent (17-of-58) shooting and an 11.5 percent (3-of-26) mark from three-point range.
 
The Wolverines out-rebounded the Eagles 50-31 on the night and outscored the team 40-28 in the paint.
 
Montae Glenn led Georgia Southern with a game-high 13 points, while Ike Smith helped with 10.
 
Utah Valley now travels to Houston, Texas to take on Rice in the quarterfinals of the CBI on Monday, March 20. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN 960 AM radio, which is also available at espn960sports.com.