OREM-Fardaws Aimaq recorded his nation-leading 21st double-double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 72-68 win over WAC leader New Mexico State on Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center.
 
Utah Valley pushes its record to 16-8 overall and 7-5 in WAC play, while New Mexico State falls to 20-4 overall and 9-2 in league play.
 
"You have to give a lot of credit and talk about how great of a team New Mexico State is," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen. "We had a late lead and they made it evaporate and it came down to just a one or two possession game. I was proud of our guys. We talked a lot the last couple of days about being consistent throughout the entire 40 minutes and I thought our guys did that tonight and I was proud of them."
 
The Wolverines made clutch free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win during the final seconds to claim the win. UVU led by seven points, 67-60, with 38 seconds to play before NM State cut it to just two points, 69-67, with nine seconds to play. Asa McCord and Aimaq knocked down key free throws over the final five seconds to secure the win.
 
Utah Valley jumped out to a 9-3 lead through the first four minutes of the game culminating in a Connor Harding three and a pair of Blaze Nield free throws. The Aggies then countered with an 8-3 run that cut the UVU lead to one point, 12-11, with 13:40 to play. Justin Harmon hit a shot from long range on the next UVU possession, sparking a 12-4 UVU run that included an Aimaq dunk and three-pointer to give the Wolverines a 24-15 lead with 8:37 remaining in the half. Leading 24-23, Utah Valley outscored the Aggies 8-0 over the final three minutes of the half to take a 32-23 lead into the break.
 
Utah Valley scored the first five points of the second half to extend its lead to 14 points, 37-23, with 17:23 to play. A Nield layup at the 13:48 mark kept the UVU in double digits, 41-29, but NM State countered with a 7-2 run to cut the UVU lead back to just seven points, 43-36, with 11:43 remaining. Harding drained a three with 12:04 on the clock as UVU scored seven unanswered points to get the lead back to 14 points, 50-36, with 10 minutes to go. The Aggies cut the UVU lead to seven points on a Teddy Allen layup, 60-53, with four minutes to play.
 
The Wolverines held on to the seven-point lead, 67-60, with 38 seconds to play, but NMSU's Mike Peake hit a three to cut it to four points, 67-63, with 32 seconds to go. NM State was forced to foul, sending Nield to the line where he made both free throws to extend the UVU lead to six points, 69-63. NM State's Teddy Allen then drove to the lane and made a second-chance layup with 20 seconds on the clock to cut the UVU lead to four points, 69-65. Tim Fuller missed the front end of a one-and-one and Allen drove back down the floor and scored to make it just a two-point game, 69-67. Both teams then hit one of two free throws on both ends of the floor as UVU held on to a 70-68 lead with three seconds to go. Aimaq then sealed the game with a pair of free throws with one second to play to make the final 72-68.
 
Aimaq scored his 23 points on 7 of 16 shooting, including a 2 of 3 mark from long range. He also knocked down 7 of 9 shots at the free throw line. The Big Maple also had 12 rebounds for his nation-leading 21st double-double of the season. He also had five assists and three steals in 38 minutes of play.
 
Harmon scored 17 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the floor, including a 2 of 3 clip from beyond the arc. He also hit 5 of 7 free throws and dished out three assists. Nield scored 14 points on a 4 of 5 clip from the field. He also had six assists with a steal. Harding was also in double figures with 10 points to go along with six rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
As a team, Utah Valley shot 47.8 percent (22-46) from the field, including a 60 percent (9-15) mark from three-point range. UVU held NM State to a 44.3 percent (27-61) mark and just a 20 percent clip (4-20) from long range. UVU just edged the Aggies on the boards 37-36.
 
Allen led New Mexico State with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Peake and Jabari Rice were also in double figures with 16 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Utah Valley now heads out on the road to take on Tarleton and Dixie State next week. UVU will play at Tarleton on Wednesday, Feb. 16. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and on ESPN 960 AM radio. The Wolverines will return to Orem to play Seattle U on Feb. 24.