LAS VEGAS – Utah Valley was unable to recover from a slow start as the Wolverines fell to New Mexico State, 78-62, in the Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament semifinals at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Trey Woodbury scored a career-high 34 points to keep UVU close, but Utah Valley's comeback fell short.
 
With the loss, the Wolverines finished the season 11-11, 9-4 in conference play, and co-champions of the Western Athletic Conference for the first time since 2014. The Aggies improve to 12-7 on the year and advanced to the conference championship game on Saturday, March 13.
 
"Our players left every ounce of energy, sweat, and blood on the court and you have to admire them for the fortitude and passion they played with," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen. "I'm so proud of our players and I could go down the list. Trey Woodbury came out there like a man possessed and he would not be denied. He fought and he scrapped and he made his teammates better. We got it down to four points and you have to give New Mexico State credit. They came out and beat us fair and square by getting key rebounds, hitting shots, and playing with energy. It was not the outcome we wanted but we will continue to work." 

New Mexico State raced out to an early 15-2 lead as UVU missed its first 10 shots from the field. Woodbury broke the cold spell, hitting a midrange jumper with 12:33 to go in the first half. Woodbury led the Wolverines on a 10-4 run to cut into the lead, 17-12 with 7:35 to go in the opening half. After the Aggies pushed its lead to 11, Utah Valley used a 10-3 surge to trim the deficit to 26-22 with 1:25 to go in the half. NMSU scored six of the final seven points of the half, taking a 32-23 lead into the break.
 
UVU got off to a slow start in the second half as the Aggies used a 13-2 run to extend its lead to 45-25 with 15:08 to go in the game. After exchanging baskets, Evan Cole and Jamison Overton led UVU on a 7-2 rally to cut the lead down to 49-34 with 11:09 remaining. NMSU scored five-straight points before Woodbury scored the Wolverine's next 12 points to keep UVU within striking distance, 59-46, with 6:13 left in the second half. Overton led the next surge as the Wolverines cut the lead down to single digits, 62-53, with 3:58 remaining. That was the closed Utah Valley would get as NMSU went on a 9-1 run to pull away and take the 78-62 victory.
 
Woodbury led all scorers with a career-high 34 points on three shots from downtown and an impressive 15-16 from the foul line. Overton was the other Wolverine in double figures, scoring 11 points on a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe to go along with three rebounds. Cole finished with seven points and eight rebounds and WAC Player of the Year pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with a pair of blocks.
 
Utah Valley shot a season-worst 29.8 percent from the field while the Aggies shot 45 percent from the floor. The Wolverines won the battle on the boards, outrebounding NMSU 40-35, including 16-9 on the offensive glass. New Mexico State took the advantage in the paint, outscoring UVU 24-12, and its bench outscored UVU's bench 21-7.
 
Utah Valley now awaits a potential invitation to a postseason tournament, ending the season as the WAC regular season co-champions for the first time in seven years.