ALBUQUERQUE—Justin Harmon scored a career-high 32 points and Tim Fuller added a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead Utah Valley to an 83-69 win over New Mexico in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) on Wednesday night at The Pit in Albuquerque. 
 
"I'm proud of our guys," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen. "The ball was really moving out there. I was really proud of Justin Harmon. Ever since he's come to campus, the wins have been stacking up for us. He's a winner and came out tonight locked in. He brings our team a Chicago toughness. I was proud of every single player on this team. The guys that played and the guys that didn't play."
 
Utah Valley improves to 26-8 overall and becomes the first team in UVU history to reach the 26-win mark. The Wolverines also improve to 11-5 on the road. The 11 road wins are tied for the most road wins in the nation this season.
 
Utah Valley held the lead for all but 1:35 seconds of the game and built a 13-point 46-33 advantage at the half. The Wolverines held the lead and never trailed in the second half to secure the 83-69 win—the team's first-ever NIT victory. 
 
Harmon scored his 32 points on 13 of 20 shooting, including a 2 of 4 mark from long range. He pulled down three rebounds and dished out three assists in his 34 minutes of play. 
 
Tim Fuller recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The 14 points match a season high for the senior forward. Fuller also had two assists with a pair of blocks.
 
Trey Woodbury neared a triple-double with 10 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. 
 
Ethan Potter came off the bench to pull down seven rebounds with two points. Aziz Bandaogo scored eight points with a team-high 11 rebounds. Le'Tre Darthard and Tahj Small each helped with seven points apiece.
 
Utah Valley shot 47.2 percent (34-72) from the field with a 38.9 percent (7-18) mark from long range. UVU held the Lobos to 40.6 percent (28-69) shooting and a 21.4 percent (3-14) mark from three-point range. 
 
Utah Valley moves on the second round of the NIT as the team travels to Boulder, Colorado to take on Colorado on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. MT on ESPNU.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After playing through three ties and two lead changes to a 14-14 tie through the first 11 minutes of the game. A Blaze Nield three-pointer then sparked a 13-3 UVU run over the next two minutes to give the Wolverines a 10-point, 27-17, lead with 7:32 on the clock. UVU maintained its lead, 33-23, with six minutes on the clock before Darthard knocked down a three as UVU scored seven of the next nine points to extend the lead to 15 points, 40-25, with 3:37 left in the half. UVU would take a 46-33 lead into the break. 
 
Utah Valley scored seven of the first nine points of the second half to jump out to a 20-point 55-35 lead though the first three minutes. The Wolverines went up by as many as 22 points, 59-37, but New Mexico rallied with nine of the next 12 points to cut the UVU lead to 16 points, 62-46, with 11:45 to play. The Lobos got the UVU lead down to 13 points, 66-53, with 9:21 on the clock, but UVU responded right back with six unanswered points to take the lead back to 19 points, 72-53, with 7:48 remaining. UNM got the UVU lead down to 13 points, 78-65, with 3:53 to play but the Wolverines outscored the Lobos 5-4 the rest of the way to secure the 83-69 win.