LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Utah Valley was unable to overcome a slow start in the second half as the Wolverines dropped its regular season finale on the road, 62-46, at New Mexico State. UVU enters the Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas with the seven seed while NM State earned the top seed.
 
UVU wraps up the season with a 19-11 record, including 10-8 in WAC play. NMSU finishes the regular season with a 24-6 record on the year, tying for first place in the conference with a 14-4 record.
 
After falling behind by five points early, Fardaws Aimaq hit a corner three to spark an 8-0 run, giving UVU n 8-5 advantage with 17:13 to go in the first half. NMSU scored five-straight points to regain the lead as both teams battled back forth to a 19-18 Aggie lead with 4:44 left in the opening half. New Mexico State outscored the Wolverines 9-4 to finish off the half, taking a 28-22 lead into the break.
 
The Aggies scored the first five points of the second half before a Tim Fuller dunk and a bucket by Aimaq trimmed the lead down to 35-26 with 16:35 left. NM State took control of the game with a 13-0 run, extending its lead to 48-26, with 11:43 remaining. Le'Tre Darthard led a 13-2 run to cut the deficit down to 50-39 with just under eight minutes to go, but the Wolverines were unable to get any closer the rest of the way. UVU went without a field goal over the final 6:47 of the game as New Mexico State pulled away for the 62-46 win.
 
Darthard led the Wolverines with 13 points off the bench on 3-of-6 shooting from deep. Aimaq finished the night with eight points and nine rebounds, snapping a streak eight-straight games with a double and marking the first time failed to score in double digits this season. Fuller chipped in eight points and five boards and Blaze Nield tallied four assists, moving into ninth in school history for career assists.
 
The Wolverines shot 17-49 from the field, failing to top 50 points for the first time this season. UVU was outrebounded for just the sixth time this season, losing the rebounding battle 36-31. Utah Valley limited NM State to just 8-30 shooting from downtown, but the Aggies outscored the Wolverines 30-18 in the paint.  
 
The Wolverines head to Las Vegas for the WAC Tournament, taking on #10 Chicago State on Tuesday, March 8, at 9:30 p.m. MT at the Michelob Ultra Arena. With a win, UVU would advance to face #6 Abilene Christian on Wednesday, March 9, at 9:30 p.m. MT.