OREM—Isaiah White scored a career-high 25 points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds for his first career double-double to lead Utah Valley to a season-opening 72-55 win over Westminster on Tuesday night at the UCCU Center.
 
The win marks the first official game and victory for the Wolverines under first-year head coach Mark Madsen.
 
Westminster jumped out to a 13-4 lead just six minutes into the game before the Wolverines bounced back with an 20-2 run over a seven-minute span to take a 26-17 lead with four minutes remaining in the first half.  Cavit Ege Havsa then knocked down a three as the shot clock expired with 2:50 remaining to give UVU a 29-19 advantage. The Wolverines would take a 35-26 lead into the break.
 
Brandon Averette got the Wolverines going in the second half scoring UVU's first 10 points, helping to extend UVU's lead to a 45-33 advantage with 15:15 to play. White then threw one down before knocking down back-to-back threes to extend UVU's lead, 53-36, with 13:50 to go. The Wolverines outscored Westminster the rest of the way to secure the 72-55 victory.
 
White scored his 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, including three shots from long range. He also knocked down 4-of-5 free throws. White pulled down 13 rebounds to go along with three assists and a steal.
 
Averette was also in double figures with 16 points, connecting on 7-of-12 shots from the field. The junior guard also pulled down five rebounds with four assists and a steal. Trey Woodbury scored seven points, while Havsa and Casdon Jardine each had five.
 
Emmanuel Olojakpoke led the Wolverines with a game-high five blocks, which ranks 10th on UVU's all-time single game record list. He also had eight rebounds, one assist, and a steal.
 
As a team, UVU recorded a 42 percent clip from the field while limiting Westminster to a 36 percent mark. UVU outrebounded the Griffins 46-34. UVU got 40 points in the paint to Westminster's 22.
 
Utah Valley now heads out on its first road trip of the season as the Wolverines travel to the Mile High City to take on Denver on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. MT