PHOENIX, Ariz. – Evan Cole dropped 20 points as Utah Valley clinched at least a share of the Western Athletic Conference regular-season championship, defeating Grand Canyon, 59-55, on the road at GCU Arena in Phoenix. This marks the second WAC title for the Wolverines since joining the league in 2014. Utah Valley also won the league championship in 2014, its first year in the WAC.
 
The win is UVU's third-straight victory as the Wolverines improve to 11-9 on the year and 9-3 in conference play. GCU falls to 14-6 on the season and 8-3 in WAC play.
 
"I'm so proud of how our guys fought and battled tonight," said Utah Valley men's basketball head coach Mark Madsen. "There were some uncharacteristic turnovers at the beginning of the game but once we settle down, our guys stepped up late to win the game. You look at a guy like Evan Cole and how he controlled the game and he made plays to win the game. With Fardaws, he's a walking double-double and his rebounding is unprecedented. Trey Woodbury stepped in as our backup point guard and he orchestrated some excellent play from the point guard position. We're not celebrating tonight and the job is not done yet but I'm proud of what our guys did tonight."

After some early turnovers put the Wolverines down, 8-3, a pull-up jumper by Trey Woodbury sparked an 11-2 run to give UVU the lead, 14-10, with 8:17 left in the first half. After a GCU three, Fardaws Aimaq hit his first shot from downtown on the season to push the lead back out to 17-13 with 7:09 remaining in the opening period. The 'Lopes hit a pair of threes to tie the game up at 19-19 before Cole led Utah Valley on a 6-0 run to push the UVU lead to 25-19 with under three minutes to play in the first half. Grand Canyon countered with five-straight points to trim the lead to one but Overton drove the lane for the final basket of the half to give the Wolverines a 27-24 lead going into the break.
 
Both teams exchanged layups to start the second half before a triple by Le'Tre Darthard kickstarted a 12-3 run as Cole scored nine-straight points, giving Utah Valley a 39-29 lead with 14:42 to go in the game. The 'Lopes scored five-straight points to bring GCU within five points before Cole sparked an 8-0 run extend the lead to 47-34 with 10:30 to go in the game. After the Wolverines held Grand Canyon scoreless for nearly five minutes, GCU hit three triples during a 15-5 run, cutting the Wolverine lead down to 52-49 with 2:14 remaining.  
 
Woodbury broke UVU's three-minute dry spell with a turnaround jumper to push the lead to 54-49 with 1:47 to go. After a GCU bucket, Aimaq hit a push shot from the elbow with just over a minute to go to give the Wolverines a five-point lead and Blaze Nield hit the clutch free throws down the stretch to give UVU the win, 59-55. The win gives UVU its third-straight win over the 'Lopes, including a second-straight victory in Phoenix.
 
The Wolverines shot 40 percent from the field, including 56 percent from beyond the arc. UVU held Grand Canyon to its lowest scoring output of the season as the 'Lopes shot 39 percent from the field, its second-worst field goal percentage of the year. Utah Valley dominated the paint, outrebounding GCU 45-30 en route to a 14-4 advantage in second chance points.

Cole finished with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, including a pair of threes to go along with four rebounds and three steals. Woodbury chipped in 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and Darthard collected a season-high seven rebounds. Aimaq pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with nine points and a pair of blocks. Jamison Overton added seven rebounds and six points and Nield dished out a team-high three assists.

Utah Valley finishes up the regular season against Grand Canyon with a chance to win the WAC title outright on Saturday, March 6 in GCU Arena. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. MT and will be broadcasted on ESPN+, GCUtv and ESPN960 AM. The Wolverines then head to Las Vegas for the 2021 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament with a chance to claim the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The tournament will be held in Orleans Arena and is set to begin on March 11.