OREM—Jake Toolson scored a game-high 22 points and four other Wolverines reached double digit scoring to lead the Utah Valley men's basketball team to a 96-71 win over Westminster in the team's season opener on Tuesday night at the UCCU Center.
 
The game extends UVU's home win streak to 15 games dating back to last season. The 15-straight wins at the UCCU Center ranks as the fourth-best active home win streak in the nation.
 
"It's nice to open the season with a win but we still have a lot of work to do," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope. "We need to work on our intensity and playing every second of every possession. We had stretches where we were solid tonight but we also had stretches where we were disengaged and that is a major concern. We don't have a lot of time to figure it out, as we are about to go through this gauntlet on the road. We're going to have to grow together really fast."
 
Trailing 11-5 just five minutes into the game, Utah Valley went on a 19-0 run over a six minute span to jump out to a 24-11 lead with 8:25 to play in the first half. The Wolverines made 12-straight defensive stops while holding the Griffins without a point over a six-minute span. UVU then out-scored Westminster 18-14 the rest of the half to take a 42-27 lead into the break.
 
Utah Valley opened the second half on a 12-5 run to extend its lead to a 19-point 54-35 advantage at the 15:52 mark. The Wolverines then out-scored Westminster 37-27 over the next 10 minutes to take a 91-62 lead into the final media timeout at the 3:52 mark before securing a 96-71 win.
 
Jake Toolson led the Wolverines with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including a 4-of-8 clip from long range. The junior guard also dished out three assists and pulled down two rebounds. Conner Toolson scored 14 points on a 6-of-10 mark from the field with a pair of threes.
 
Connor MacDougall scored 13 points with six rebounds, while Ben Nakwaasah scored 12 points with four assists and four boards. Isaiah White was also in double figures with 10 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists.
 
UVU shot 52 percent (34-of-65) from the floor on the night, including a 65.4 percent mark (11-of-22) from beyond the arc.
 
Jake Connor and Travis Devashravee led Westminster with 12 points apiece.
 
Utah Valley now prepares for its UCCU Crosstown Clash matchup at BYU on Friday night. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. MT.