OREM—TJ Washington drove to the basket and dished off to Isaiah White who then knocked down the game winner with 1.3 seconds left of the clock to lift Utah Valley to a 72-70 win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center. 
 
Utah Valley improves to 8-12 overall and 2-3 in WAC play. UTRGV falls to 6-12 overall and 2-3 in WAC play.
 
"We've had so many close ones this season and it was fun to win one of those tonight," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen. "Everyone on our roster contributed to this win. I'm really proud of TJ. We put him on the high ball screen and they couldn't guard him and he knocked down free throws. I was proud of our guys today for going out and executing our game plan. I can't say enough about every player that stepped on the floor. JJ Overton finished around the rim and made plays for others and stepped up off the bench."
 
After taking a 3-2 lead just under a minute into the game, UT Rio Grande Valley went on a quick 10-0 run over the 2:30 to jump out to a 12-3 lead with 15:22 to play in the first. Washington knocked down a three and then Brandon Morley connected on a layup with 9:41 left in the half that helped spark a 12-2 UVU run over a four-minute span to give the Wolverines their first lead of the game, 30-28, with five minutes to go. UTRGV scored the only field goal over the final five minutes as the two teams played to a 30-30 tie at the break. 
 
UVU fell behind by five, 38-33, just three minutes into the second half. Jamison Overton then scored 11 of UVU's next 12 points as the Wolverines went on a 12-3 run to give UVU a 45-41 lead with 11 minutes to play. UVU took a 60-56 lead on a Washington layup that gave the Wolverines a 60-56 lead with four minutes remaining. The Vaqueros then took a 62-61 lead with three minutes to play on a Javon Levi three-pointer. There were then three ties and four lead changes over the final two minutes and 27 seconds before White scored the game winner for the Wolverines.
 
Washington scored his 25 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the field, including a pair of shots from beyond the arc. The senior guard also hit 11 of 12 free throws. He also had three rebounds and dished out a pair of assists. Overton connected on 6 of 10 shots from the field, including a 4 of 5 mark at the free throw line for his 16 points. Overton also pulled down eight rebounds and had two assists. 
 
White finished with nine points to go along with eight rebounds and one assist. Emmanuel Olojakpoke scored seven points with six rebounds and five blocks. The five blocks pushes his season total to 56 for the season which puts him into a tie for second on the UVU individual season blocks chart. He now needs just 16 more blocks this season to become the all-time UVU single season shot blocker. Trey Woodbury also had seven points.
 
As a team, UVU shot 42 percent (21 of 50) from the floor and an impressive 80.6 mark (25 of 31) from the charity stripe. The Wolverines outrebounded UTRGV 39-33. Utah Valley's bench outscored UTRGV 43-10 on the day.
 
Lesley Varner II led the Vaqueros with a team-high 21 points. Sean Rhea and Javon Levi each finished with 14.
 
Utah Valley now heads out on the road to take on CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon. The Wolverines will take on CSUB on Thursday, Jan. 23 before traveling to Phoenix to take on the 'Lopes on Saturday, Jan. 25. UVU will return to the UCCU Center on Wednesday, Jan. 29 to take on California Baptist.