BIRMINGHAM, Alabama—Carter Welling recorded a double-double with a career-high 21 points and a career-best 11 rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 77-74 win over West Georgia on Tuesday in the Wolverines' first game of the Samford Thanksgiving Invitational at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Alabama.
 
The game produced 15 ties and 10 lead changes, but a late 12-2 run with under five minutes to play helped Utah Valley secure the win down the stretch. UVU improves to 4-1 overall on the season. The Wolverines have won two straight games on the road.
 
"We gutted it out a little bit," said Utah Valley head coach Todd Phillips. "I think we were a little bit lethargic after being on the road for a few days, but we faced some adversity and just kept pushing through. I really liked our toughness down the stretch."
 
Welling scored his game-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including shot from long range. He also knocked down 8-of-12 shots at the free throw line. Welling also dished out a pair of assists and recorded a block.
 
Trevan Leonhardt and Dominick Nelson were also in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Leonhardt had a near perfect shooting night, connecting on 4-of-5 shots from the field, including a 1-of-1 mark from beyond the arc and a 2-of-2 mark from the charity stripe. He also had three rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a pair of blocks. Nelson pulled down six rebounds to go along with his 10 points.
 
Utah Valley shot 44.1% (26-of-59) from the field with an 18.2% (2-of-11) mark from three-point range. West Georgia shot 48.3% (28-of-58) from the floor with a 36.8% (7-of-19) clip from long range. The Wolverines outrebounded UWG 41-27 and outscored the Wolves 38-30 in the paint.
 
Utah Valley will continue play at the Samford Thanksgiving Invitational on Wednesday against host Samford. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and on the Wolverines Sports Network (103.9 FM/960 AM/98.3 FM/101.5 HD2 FM).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Utah Valley and West Georgia played to a 6-6 tie through the first three minutes of the game. Carter Welling then made back-to-back shots, including an and-one as part of a 5-0 UVU run to give the Wolverines an 11-6 lead with 15:08 to play in the half. West Georgia then outscored UVU 11-4 over the next 4:47 to take a 17-15 lead with 10:21 on the clock. The two teams then played through four ties and five lead changes over the next 5:42 with UVU taking a 28-27 lead with 4:39 remaining. UVU and West Georgia continued to go back and forth over the final 4:39, with UVU taking a 34-32 lead into the break.
 
Second Half
Trevan Leonhardt opened the half with a three to extend UVU's lead to a 37-32 advantage. The Wolves tied the score at 39-39 with a layup at the 17:23 mark as part of a 6-2 run to give West Georgia a 45-41 lead with 15:43 on the clock. Carter Welling then made a layup, was fouled, and made the free throw to cut the Wolves' lead to one point, 45-44, with 14:56 to play. Potter then hit a pair of free throws as part of a 5-0 UVU run to give the Wolverines a 46-45 lead with 14:40 on the clock. West Georgia then scored seven of the next 10 points to take a three-point 52-49 lead with 12:31 to play.
 
Tanner Toolson scored to spark a 10-4 UVU run over the next 4:44 to give the Wolverines a 59-56 lead with 8:12 to play. West Georgia responded with a 7-2 run over the next 3:10 to retake the lead 63-61 with five minutes to go. Carter Welling scored in the paint, and Nelson found a bucket to spark a 12-2 UVU run to give the Wolverines an eight-point 73-65 lead with just 1:43 to play. West Georgia responded right back with five unanswered points to cut the UVU lead to just three points, 73-70, with under a minute to play. A Cory Wells jumper put UVU up by five, 75-70, with 25 seconds to go. UWG scored back-to-back buckets to cut it to one point, 75-74, with 11 seconds to go. Kylin Green hit a pair of free throws on the other end to give UVU a 77-74 lead, and UWG missed a three at the buzzer that would have tied the game as UVU escaped with the win.