MALIBU, Calif. – Utah Valley stormed back in the second half, behind Fardaws Aimaq's career night and Connor Harding's big shot, to knock off Pepperdine, 86-74, on the road in overtime. Aimaq scored a career high 34 points to bring the Wolverines back from 12 points down and Harding hit the game-tying three with 1.2 seconds to go in regulation to send the game to overtime.
 
With the win, UVU improves to 2-1 on the season as the Waves fall to 1-2 on the year.
 
"It was a great win tonight," said Utah Valley men's basketball head coach Mark Madsen. "I was really pleased with our guys and how we regrouped and had a great defensive game in the second half and overtime period. Fardaws' game speaks for itself and he's a tremendous leader. Justin Harmon was fantastic and Connor did not miss from three tonight. We knew we were going to call his number when we needed that shot and he knocked it down."
 
Utah Valley got off to a quick start in the opening half, scoring the first seven points of the game to go up, 7-0, with 17:34 to go in the half. Pepperdine slowly chipped away at the lead before using an 8-0 to take a 21-14 advantage with 10:20 to go in the first half. After a triple by Blaze Nield cut the deficit to 23-19, the Waves used a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 32-21 with 5:53 to go in the opening half. Aimaq took over from there, scoring 10 of UVU's last 12 points of the half as Utah Valley entered the break trailing 39-33.
 
The Wolverines quickly cut into the lead as a three by Harding cut the lead down to one, 39-38, less than a minute into the second half. Pepperdine responded with a 7-0 surge to push its lead back out to 48-40 with 17:13 to go in the half. The Waves then used a 12-4 run to take its largest lead of the game, 60-48, with 11:42 remaining. After trading baskets, Harmon hit a transition three to spark a 10-0 run and Le'Tre Darthard capped it off with a transition triple of his own to cut the lead to 62-60 with 8:21 to go.
 
A pair of threes by Pepperdine extended the lead back out to 68-61 but Aimaq scored the next six UVU points to make it a 71-67 game with 1:16 to go in the second half. Following a defensive stop, Tim Fuller got fouled and knocked down a free throw to make it a three-point game with 42 seconds left. Utah Valley got another stop and Harding drilled a deep, stepback three to tie the score up at 71-71 with 1.2 seconds to go, sending the game to overtime.
 
In the extra period, Harding hit another triple to give UVU its first lead since 12:55 in the first half as the Wolverines used an 8-0 run to go up, 79-71. Harmon iced the game away from the foul line and an emphatic dunk by Aimaq capped off the comeback as Utah Valley took the game, 86-74.
 
Aimaq finished with another double-double, adding 14 rebounds to his 34 points, knocking down 14 of 24 shots from the floor. Harding chipped in a career-high 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field a perfect 4 of 4 from downtown. Harmon scored 14 points off the bench and Nield added eight points and a game-high seven assists.
 
Utah Valley shot 51 percent from the field, including 60 percent from downtown. The Wolverines held Pepperdine to just 30 percent from the field after halftime, including 0-6 in overtime. UVU won the battle on the boards 37-34, leading to a 42-20 advantage in the paint.
 
The Wolverines continue road play as Utah Valley will take on Long Beach State on Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 8:00 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and ESPN 960 AM. Utah Valley then stays in California, continuing the SoCal Challenge, with a matchup against Idaho on Monday. Nov. 22, at 3:30 p.m. MT, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.