CHICAGO, Ill. – Five Wolverines scored in double figures as Utah Valley pulled away from Chicago State, 94-73, to start conference play. Utah Valley improved to 7-9 on the year and 1-0 in WAC play with the win. The Cougars fall to 4-12 on the season 0-1 in conference play.
 
"A lot of positive things tonight, with still room to improve," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen. "If you look at the assists to turnovers, we had 20 assists and only seven turnovers, a ratio of almost three to one. When we share the ball like that, this team is special. The defense was talking and rotating and I was happy with how the guys responded. Our guards were sharing the ball and making their teammates better. "
 
The Wolverines jumped out to an 11-1 lead over the first five minutes of the game powered by Isaiah White. Chicago State cut into the lead with a 13-6 run to bring the lead to 17-13 with 11:31 to go in the opening half. After battling back and forth, UVU used a 7-0 surge to take a 33-18 lead with 5:23 to go in the half. The Cougars knocked down a pair of free throws just before the break to cut the lead to 42-32, but they would never get any closer the rest of the way.
 
After both teams exchanged baskets, the Wolverines opened the game up with a 12-2 surge, behind Casdon Jardine, to extend the lead to 60-38 with 14:42 to go in the game. Utah Valley coasted the rest of the way as the Cougars never got within 15 points the rest of the game. The Wolverines outscored Chicago State 19-12 over the last seven minutes to finish off the 94-73 win on the road.
 
The Wolverines shot a season-high 61.4 percent from the floor, including 52.9 percent from down town. Utah Valley held Chicago State to 23-59 from the floor and just 5-18 from beyond the arc. UVU won the battle on the glass, 35-31 and the seven turnovers tied a season low.
 
Jardine led the Wolverines with 18 points on 7-10 from the field, hitting 4-5 from deep to go along with eight rebounds. Brandon Averette also chipped in 18 points on a pair of threes and a couple steals. White poured in 16 points and a team high nine rebounds and TJ Washington scored 14 points to go along with a game-high eight assists. Jamison Overton was the other Wolverine in double figures with 12 points and Emmanuel Olojapoke added a pair of blocks.

Utah Valley travel to Missouri to take on Kansas City on Saturday, Jan. 4. Tip is set for 6:00 pm M.T. and will be broadcasted on the WAC Digital Network and ESPN960 AM. The Wolverines then wrap up their road trip at Seattle U on Jan. 11 before returning home to take on New Mexico State on Jan. 16 in the UCCU Center.