EDINBURG, Texas. – Isaiah White's 23-point double-double wasn't enough to bring back the Wolverines as UVU dropped an 80-72 decision to UT Rio Grande Valley on the road. The loss is the first defeat Utah Valley has suffered to the Vaqueros since Jan. 19, 2013 and is only the fourth time UTRGV has beaten UVU in 30 tries.
 
The Wolverines drop to 9-16 on the season, including 3-7 in WAC play. The Vaqueros improved to 10-14 on the year and 6-5 in conference play.
 
"We won the second half but we lost the first half because we did not come out with enough energy," said UVU head men's basketball coach, Mark Madsen. "The challenge that I have and that I'm going to embrace is how to have better starts to the game and have better first halves. By the time we really started playing, we had all the momentum, but we have to play like that from the tip."
 
Both teams battle back and forth as the opening four minutes included four lead changes and a pair of ties before the Wolverines took a 13-10 lead, punctuated by a White dunk. After the Vaqueros tied the game up at 13 apiece, Casdon Jardine hit a three to extend the lead to 18-13 with 10 minutes left in the first half. The Wolverines went scoreless for the next 6:02 as part of a 14-2 UT Rio Grande Valley run, bringing the score to 27-20 with 3:48 remaining in the half. The Vaqueros outscored Utah Valley 8-5 over the four minutes as UTRGV took a 35-25 advantage into the break.
 
After the Vaqueros extended its lead to 40-29, the Wolverines, used a 7-2 run to cut the lead down to 42-36 with 17:12 left in the game. Both teams went back and forth before UT Rio Grande Valley went on a 9-3 run to give it its largest lead of the game, 66-49 with 6:04 remaining in the game. Utah Valley was unable to overcome the deficit as a three by Casdon Jardine with six seconds left brought the score to its final, 80-72.
 
The Wolverines outshot the Vaqueros, 46.7 percent to 45.2 percent, and held UTRGV to just 2-13 from downtown. Utah Valley was outrebounded 40-31 and shot just 10-19 from the foul line while the Vaqueros knocked down 22-25 from the charity stripe.
 
White led the Wolverines with 23 points and 10 rebounds on 7-17 from the field and a couple of threes. Brandon Averette chipped in 13 points and three assists and Jardine added 13 points and six rebounds. TJ Washington paced UVU with six assists to go along with eight points and a pair of steals. Emmanuel Olojakpoke blocked another shot to bring his total to 68 on the year, just three blocks shy of the UVU single-season record.
 
"We have a great opportunity on Saturday against New Mexico State to go in there and compete against a good team and compete for a win," said Madsen. "We must play better, make the extra pass, and not miss box outs."

Utah Valley travels to take on New Mexico State on Saturday, Feb. 15 in the Las Cruces, New Mexico. Tip is set for 4:00 pm M.T. and will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports San Diego, Fox Sports Southwest-Plus, Fox College Sports Pacific, and the WAC Digital Network. The game will also be broadcasted on the radio on ESPN960 AM. The Wolverines then return home to take on CSU Bakersfield on Thursday, Feb. 20 and Grand Canyon on Saturday, Feb. 22 in the UCCU Center.