DENVER—Brandon Averette scored a team-high 17 points and Trey Woodbury added 12 to lead Utah Valley in a74-62 loss at Denver on Saturday afternoon in the team's first road game of the season at  Magness Arena in the Mile High City.
 
Utah Valley (1-1) started strong as the team held on to the lead through the first 10 minutes of the half, taking a 19-14 advantage with 10 minutes to go in the first period. Averette's three at the 8:23 mark gave the Wolverines a 22-16 lead. Denver (1-1) made a run to tie the game, 26-26, with 4:12 to play and then used a 13-4 run over the final four minutes to take a 39-30 lead into the break.
 
The Wolverines opened the second half on a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to a four-point 41-37 Denver lead. Jamison Overton threw down a jam with 12:42 to play that gave UVU its first lead since the 4:45 mark of the first half, 47-46. The Pioneers responded with a 17-1 run over a 5:36 stretch to jump out to their biggest lead of the game, 63-51, with six minutes to play. Denver continued to extend its lead throughout the remainder of the second half to secure the victory.
 
Averette scored his 17 points on a 6-of-10 clip from the floor, including a 2-of-3 mark from long range. He also knocked down 3-of-4 shots at the free throw line and tallied one assists and a steal. Woodbury scored his 12 points on 5-of-10 shots from the field. He pulled down six rebounds with one steal.
 
Isaiah White, who got in early foul trouble, scored nine points in 23 minutes of play. He also pulled down 10 rebounds. Overton also scored nine points, while Casdon Jardine added eight.
 
UVU shot 43 percent from the floor compared to Denver's 48 percent mark. The Wolverines hit 22 percent of their threes (5-of-23) while the Pioneers connected on a 58 percent clip (7-of-12). The Wolverines outrebounded DU 37-29 on the day.
 
Utah Valley returns home to take on Ottawa (AZ) on Tuesday at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.