LARAMIE, Wyo. – Isaiah White hit the game-winning layup with under six seconds to go as the Wolverines knocked off Wyoming, 69-67, on the road in Laramie on Wednesday night at Arena-Auditorium.
Jamison Overton stole the ball and passed it ahead to White who took it all the way to the basket. The win snaps a five-game losing streak and brings the Wolverines to 5-8 on the season. The Cowboys drop its sixth-straight game and fall to 3-9 on the year.
"It was time we won one of these close games, and it was won with effort," said Utah Valley head coach
Mark Madsen. "I was really proud of our guys and if you look at both plays that were made in the last 12 seconds of the game, we executed perfectly. Our guard play was huge with TJ, Brandon, and Ege controlling tempo and making their teammates better."
Trey Woodbury hit a three to get the scoring going for the Wolverines before the Cowboys went on an 8-2 run to take an early 8-5 lead. Both teams traded baskets as the lead changed five times during the opening half.
Isaiah White hit a hanging and-one layup and the following free throw to end a 7-0 run to give Utah Valley University a 31-23 lead with seven seconds to go in the half. White was a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line in the first half. Wyoming hit a desperation three at the buzzer to cut the lead down to 31-26 at intermission.
Utah Valley extended its lead to 36-28 on a Cason Jardine jumper from deep with 17:56 to go in the game. Wyoming chipped away at the lead, using a 12-5 run to trim the lead down to 41-40 with
12:19 to go in the second half. After the Wolverines pushed its lead to eight again, the Cowboys used a 10-2 run to take their first lead of the second half, 58-55, with 4:42 remaining in the contest.
TJ Washington hit four straight free throws to retake the lead as both teams went back and forth down the stretch.
After four straight points from the Cowboys, White and Washington each hit layups to regain the lead at 63-62 with just over two minutes left in the game. After another lead change and a pair of free throws by Washington, Wyoming took its final lead at 67-65 with under a minute to go.
Brandon Averette hit a pair of clutch free throws to tie the game at 67 apiece. Wyoming let the clock run down before an errant pass was intercepted by Overton who then found White for the game winner.
"We've had low turnovers in the games we've won and that's been an emphasis," said Madsen. "We've been working all week on the court and in the video room and the guys have taken the ownership on themselves. Can't say enough about
Isaiah White and how he stayed in shape and was ready after missing a month and
Brandon Morley went to work when we needed a couple buckets."
Utah Valley finished 23-of-49 from the field and shot an impressive 17-18 from the foul line. The Wolverines cut down on the turnovers, finishing with only eight giveaways. UVU also got a big boost from its bench, using a 27-19 advantage in bench scoring.
White paced the Wolverines with 19 points on 9-of-10 from the foul line to go along with a game-high nine rebounds. Averette poured in 18 points and a pair of threes and Washington chipped in 13 points on a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe with a team high three assists. Overton added a block and three steals, including the steal to ice the game.
Utah Valley continue on the road as they travel to Long Beach State Saturday, Dec. 21. Tip is set for 5:00 P.M. MT and will be broadcasted on ESPN960 AM. The Wolverines then wrap up non-conference play as they return home to take on Antelope Valley on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 3:00 P.M. MT.
