LAS VEGAS—
Conner Toolson scored a team-high 16 points and
Richard Harward and
Baylee Steele each added 12 in a 78-74 loss to Grand Canyon in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament on Friday night at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Conner Toolson knocked down a shot from beyond the arc with 3:37 to play to cut the Grand Canyon lead to just one point, 73-72, but couldn't get any closer as the Antelopes scored five straight points to secure a 78-74 win.
Utah Valley (24-9) now awaits a third-straight invitation to play in a postseason national tournament. The Wolverines have played in the College Basketball Invitational in each of the past two seasons. UVU has won eight of its last nine games and 11 of its last 13.
UVU and GCU played to a 15-15 tie 8:30 of the game before Grand Canyon used a 9-2 run to jump out to its biggest lead of the first half, 24-17, with 10:12 remaining in the first half.
Ben Nakwaasah then capped off an 11-0 UVU run, giving the Wolverines a 28-24 advantage with eight minutes to play in the first period. UVU would hang on to its lead to take a 44-40 lead into the break.
Grand Canyon outscored UVU 8-4 to open the second half, tying the score 48-48 with 16:19 remaining. The two teams then played through two lead changes and two ties before the 'Lopes went on a 10-4 run on seven straight points from Trey Drechsel to give GCU a 66-60 lead with 8:35 to play. The Wolverines got it back to within one point, 73-72, with 3:37 to go, but gave up five straight GCU points to take the 78-74 setback.
Conner Toolson scored his 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including a 3-of-8 mark from long range and a 3-of-3 clip from the charity stripe. Harward was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free throw line for his 12 points. He was just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. Steele connected on 5-of-6 shots from the field and knocked down 2-of-2 free throws.
TJ Washington had nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, while
Ben Nakwaasah had eight points to go along with four assists.
Isaiah White and
Jake Toolson each tallied seven points.
As a team, Utah Valley shot 50.9 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three, and 90 percent from the free throw line. The Wolverines held Grand Canyon to 44 percent from the field.
The Wolverines now await a possible invitational from one of the postseason national tournaments.
