OREM, Utah – Akolda Manyang recorded a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double and Zach Nelson surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career as the Utah Valley University men's basketball team defeated Eastern Washington 87-65 in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational on Tuesday night at the UCCU Center.
 
Utah Valley improved to 23-10 for the year with the win and advances to the quarterfinal round of the CBI where it awaits the winner of San Francisco and Colgate. The Wolverines knocked down 56 percent of their shots on the night while holding Eastern Washington to just 36 percent shooting. They also dominated the rebounding battle 46-27 and outscored the Eagles' bench 35-14.
 
"I'm really happy for my team and really proud of them. This was a hard game to play against a team that is really good," said UVU head coach Mark Pope. "Our guys were pretty dedicated to assignments and shared and shot the ball well. This is a really good win for us."
 
The Wolverines started off hot from 3-point range as Kenneth Ogbe and Jake Toolson knocked down back-to-back shots from the arc. Eastern Washington also started hot from the field and scored its first-12 points of the game all in the paint. Neither team could make a run though as the two sides continued to trade baskets early on.
 
At the 12-minute mark, Nelson and Ben Nakwaasah came off the bench to spark a 13-2 run and give the Wolverines their first lead of the game. Nelson put in a layup and Nakwaasah followed with a pair of free throws and a three. Manyang then threw down an alley-oop from Nakwaasah and Brandon Randolph put in a fast-break layup off a steal to cap the run.
 
Utah Valley's lead grew a high as eight in the half before the Eagles trimmed it down to three. The Wolverines gradually grew their advantage again, mainly from the free-throw line, and took a 36-29 lead into halftime. The bench led the way for UVU in the opening stanza as Jerrelle DeBerry dropped in nine points and Nakwaasah added seven.
 
The Wolverines came out of the break attacking the paint and strung together a 13-3 run as a result. Manyang and DeBerry led the spurt for UVU with seven of the 13 points, while Ogbe converted a three-point play and hit a three. Utah Valley's lead grew to 15 from the burst, but EWU answered with a 10-2 run and cut the deficit to seven.
 
The exchange of runs continued as UVU pulled off a 9-3 spurt that reestablished its double-digit lead. Conner Toolson came away with a big steal and fed Ogbe for a dunk in transition to cap off the run. Toolson kept up the defensive effort with another steal on which he added a transition layup, and then knocked down a three as well.
 
UVU's lead continued to grow and Manyang dropped in a pair of shots from the charity stripe with five minutes to play to give the Wolverines a 20-point lead. Utah Valley then went back to the paint and Nelson closed out the game by scoring his 1,000th career point as a Wolverine.  
 
Manyang's big night led UVU as he scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to go with a block and an assist. Ogbe dropped in 17 points on a 3-of-4 clip from downtown and 6-of-7 mark from the field overall. DeBerry had a strong game off the bench with 16 points, and Nelson joined him with 10 points on his career-milestone night. Randolph played well all around as he finished the night with five points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a steal. Conner Toolson and Nakwaasah grabbed three steals each to lead the defensive effort for Utah Valley.
 
Utah Valley now awaits its quarterfinal opponent as it will play the winner of tomorrow night's game between Colgate and San Francisco on Monday, March 19. Details on the location, time and broadcast information of that game will be announced as they become available.