OREM—Ethan Potter scored a career-high 20 points and matched a career high with eight rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 74-45 win over Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center. 
 
Utah Valley snaps a four-game losing streak to improve to 10-14 overall and 5-8 in WAC play. Abilene Christian falls to 8-15 overall and 3-9 in league play. 
 
"This is a big win for us, and it feels good," said Utah Valley head coach Todd Phillips. "We've lost some close games and fizzled out of some of those games with this young team we have. It was important that we got out to a good start. We needed this for our psyche and hopefully it will springboard us moving forward."
 
Potter recorded his second straight 19-plus point game. The sophomore forward scored his career-high 20 points on an impressive 9 of 11 clip from the field. He also knocked down 2 of 3 shots at the free throw line. Potter matched a career high with eight rebounds to go along with three steals and a pair of blocks. 
 
Potter has averaged 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game over his last four games, including his career-high 20-point performance in the win over Abilene Christian on Saturday.
 
"The last couple of weeks I've just tried to get better mentally and get back to the basics," said Potter. "I knew my time was going to come and I've just been waiting for that and building confidence until I could go at 100% like I've been able to the last couple of games."
 
Trevin Dorius scored 12 points with eight rebounds and three blocks. Jaden McClanahan and Caleb Stone-Carrawell were also in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. McClanahan also dished out five assists with a career-high two blocks. 
 
Drake Allen dished out a team-high six assists with a team-best five steals. 
 
Utah Valley had three players dish out five or more assists and finished the day with 26 assists on its 29 made baskets. 
 
Utah Valley shot 54.7% (29-53) from the field with a 46.7% (7-15) clip from long range. The Wolverines recorded a 69.2% (9-13) mark from the free throw line. UVU held ACU to 24.1% (14-58) shooting on the day. 
 
Utah Valley outrebounded the Wildcats 43-29 on the day and outscored ACU 38-18 in the paint. 
 
Utah Valley now heads back out on the road as the team travels to play California Baptist on Thursday and Southern Utah on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and over the air waves on ESPN 960 AM radio. 
 
"We've got some big games coming up," said Phillips. "We need to win on the road and then we need to hold home court the rest of the way to get to the WAC Tournament."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Utah Valley and Abilene Christian played through four ties and three lead changes, and neither team led by more than four points through the first nine minutes of the game with ACU taking a 13-19 lead. Osiris Grady then made back-to-back buckets and Ethan Potter knocked down three straight shots in the paint to spark a 14-1 UVU run capped off by a Trevin Dorius dunk to give Utah Valley a 23-14 lead with five minutes to play in the half. ACU outscored UVU 8-7 over the final five minutes of the half as the Wolverines held on to a 30-22 lead at the break. 
 
Second Half
Abilene Christian scored the first five points of the second half, but Utah Valley responded with a 7-2 run to take a 37-29 lead with 16:49 to play. ACU then scored five unanswered to cut the UVU lead to just three points, 37-34, with 15:32 remaining. The Wolverines held on to the three-point lead, 41-38, with 14:03 to go and then used a 17-2 run capped off by a pair of Jaden McClanahan threes to extend their lead to 18 points, 58-40, with 8:43 minutes on the clock. Utah Valley then outscored ACU 16-5 over the final 8:44 to secure the 74-45 win. The Wolverines outscored ACU 33-7 over the final 14 minutes of the game.