OREM—Le'Tre Darthard scored 14 points and Aziz Bandaogo recorded a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead Utah Valley to a 91-64 win over Western Colorado on Wednesday night in the team's home opener at the UCCU Center. 
 
Utah Valley evens its record at 1-1 on the season, while Western Colorado falls to 0-1 on the year. 
 
"We finished this game with 25 assists on 35 made baskets and that was great to see," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen. "Our defense really ramped up in the second half. We got some stops and the guys responded."
 
The two teams played to a 13-13 tie through the first 7:30 of the game. Tahj Small then scored his first points as a Wolverine to spark a 7-0 run culminating in a Bandaogo dunk to give UVU a 20-13 lead with 11 minutes to play in the half. Colorado Western cut the lead back to just three points, 22-19, but a pair of Bandaogo dunks put the Wolverines back up by seven, 20-13, with nine minutes remaining in the half. Leading 22-17, Bandaogo threw down another dunk at the 9:21 as UVU scored six of the next eight points to up its lead to nine points, 28-19, with seven minutes to go. WCU then outscored the Wolverines 16-12 over the final seven minutes to cut the UVU lead to five points, 40-35, at the half.
 
Le'Tre Darthard hit a pair of free throws and knocked down a three to open the second half as the Wolverines scored 14 of the first 16 points over the first five minutes to jump out to a 54-37 lead. UVU held on to its 17-point lead, 63-46, with 11:22 to play. The Wolverines then used a 9-2 run bookended by a Tim Fuller dunk to extend the lead to 24 points, 72-48, with 9:39 to play. Utah Valley outscored WCU 19-16 the rest of the way to secure the 91-64 win.
 
Darthard scored a team-high 14 points on a 5 of 6 clip from the field, including a 2 of 3 mark from long range. Darthard scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
 
Trey Woodbury scored 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting. He also pulled down four rebounds with one steal. 
 
Aziz Bandaogo had 12 points on a perfect 6 of 6 mark from the field. He also had 10 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.
 
Justin Harmon scored 11 points on a 5 of 8 mark with one three. He dished out four assists and pulled down a rebound. Blaze Nield also had 11 points, knocking down 3 of 4 shots, including a pair of threes. Nield also dished out five assists and had a steal.
 
Utah Valley shot an impressive 56.5 percent (35-62) from the floor, including a 31.6 percent (6-19) mark from beyond the arc. UVU held Western Colorado to a 42.9 percent (27-63) clip and limited WCU to just a 7 of 24 mark from long range. 
 
Utah Valley will continue play at home against Northern Arizona on Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.