CEDAR CITY, Utah – Utah Valley's late rally came up short as the Wolverines dropped a hard-fought game, 60-56, on the road at in-state rival Southern Utah. With the loss, UVU's seven-game win streak comes to an end.
UVU falls to 7-2 on the season, as the Thunderbirds improve to 6-3 on the year.
"We gave ourselves a chance late and I'm proud of our guys for that," said Utah Valley men's basketball head coach
Mark Madsen. "We didn't lose the game late, we lost it in the midpoint of the first half. SUU went on a run and give them credit."
Fardaws Aimaq and
Connor Harding got the Wolverines off to an early 9-2 advantage with 16:31 to go in the opening half. After a 6-0 run by SUU trimmed the lead to one, UVU used an 8-3 run to push the lead back out to 17-11 with 12:32 remaining in the first half. Southern Utah countered with a 10-2 run to retake the lead, 21-19, with 8:54 left in the half. Following buckets by
Tim Ceaser and Harding, the Thunderbirds finished the half on a 12-4 run, taking a 33-28 lead into halftime.
Both teams started slow in the second half before Aimaq led the Wolverines on a 11-3 run to regain the lead, 44-43, with 12:20 to go in the game. UVU and SUU battled to a 50-50 tie with 9:52 remaining before Southern Utah took control of the game with a 9-2 run, giving the Thunderbirds a 59-52 lead with 2:53 to go. Utah Valley scored four-straight points to cut the lead to 59-56 but was unable to get any closer as SUU was able to pull out the 60-56 victory.
Aimaq notched his nation-leading eight-straight double double, finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and a pair of blocks. Harding added 15 points to go along with a season-high seven rebounds while
Tim Fuller chipped in eight points and five rebounds.
Utah Valley shot 35 percent from the field while Southern Utah finished shooting 42 percent from the floor. UVU outrebounded the Thunderbirds 38-35, but SUU won the battle in the paint, 32-26. The game featured 10 lead changes and six ties as neither team had a lead larger than eight points throughout the game.
The Wolverines continue on the road as Utah Valley will take on Wyoming on Saturday, Dec. 8, at 8:00 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcasted on the Mountain West Network and ESPN 960 AM. Utah Valley then returns home for a matchup with Bethesda on Friday, Dec. 17 in the UCCU Center.
