By Jason Erickson

OREM—Fardaws Aimaq recorded his seventh straight double-double with 24 points and 22 rebounds and Justin Harmon scored a career-high 24 points to lead Utah Valley to its first-ever win over a ranked opponent in a 72-65 overtime win over No. 12 BYU on Wednesday night at the UCCU Center.
 
The Wolverines improve to a perfect 4-0 in overtime games this season and pick up their seventh straight win to improve to 7-1 overall on the season. The loss is the first of the year for BYU who falls to 6-1.
 
The win is the first win over a ranked opponent in UVU history. The Wolverines were previously 0-10 all-time against teams in the Top-25.
 

Utah Valley upsets No. 12 BYU in OT 😳

The first win over an AP ranked opponent in @UVUmbb history! pic.twitter.com/vSK4AFvtYc

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 2, 2021

 
"BYU has a great team, and we have nothing but respect for them," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen. "My college coach Mike Montgomery always used to say that to win a game you have to have some special individual performances and we had that tonight. I've been involved in very few basketball games in my life where anyone on a team gets 20 rebounds and Fardaws has already done that four times in his two seasons with us. Justin Harmon got a key steal and had a great game. Individual performances allow teams to win."
 
Aimaq leads the nation in double-doubles with his seventh in a row tonight. With his 22 rebounds, he has recorded 15 or more rebounds in five of the eight games he has played this season. The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar candidate scored his 24 points on a 7 of 19 clip from the field and an 8 of 13 mark from the free throw line. He also dished out a season-high four assists and had a career-high five steals.
 
"At the end of the day, I'm so proud of our guys," said Aimaq. "We stepped up and played well enough for us to win this game. Sometimes shots don't fall but at the end of the day, our fight, our nastiness, and our ability to get to the pain and get fouled and control the glass showed out tonight. This team is something special and it's just the start of a great year."
 
Harmon scored his career-high 24 points on 7 of 15 shooting, including a 2 of 4 clip from long range. He connected on 8 of 10 free throws. He also had a career-high three blocks and a career-high seven rebounds.
 
Trailing by four points, 51-47, with 1:34 to play in regulation, Harmon connected on a driving layup and was fouled. He then knocked down the free throw to cut the BYU lead to just one point, 51-50, with 1:22 to go. Aimaq then pulled down a defensive board and then found Tim Fuller, who threw it down on the fast break to give the Wolverines a 54-51 lead with just 17 seconds remaining. BYU's Seneca Knight hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds on the clock as BYU cut UVU's lead to a 54-53 advantage. Aimaq was fouled on the other end and hit 1 of 2 free throws as UVU held on to a 55-53 lead with eight seconds to go. BYU's Spencer Johnson then made a layup with one second left on the clock to send the game into overtime.
 
Down by two, 59-57, with 2:43 to play in overtime, Aimaq connected on a shot from beyond the arc to give UVU back the lead, 60-59. It sparked a 10-0 UVU run over the next 2:16 to put the Wolverines up 67-59 with 43 seconds to play. The lead was enough for UVU to hold on and claim the 72-65 win.
 
Connor Harding was in double figures with 10 points. The junior guard also had three assists and a pair of rebounds. Tim Fuller matched a season high with eight rebounds to go along with four points and a steal.
 
Utah Valley continues play at home on Friday against Yellowstone Christian. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines will then travel south to Cedar City to play Southern Utah on Wednesday.