OREM—Ethan Potter scored a career-high 19 points and pulled down a career-high eight rebounds to lead Utah Valley in a 72-61 setback to Tarleton State on Thursday night at the UCCU Center. 
 
Utah Valley falls to 9-14 overall and 4-8 in WAC play. Tarleton State improves to 16-7 overall and remains in second place in the WAC with a 9-3 record. 
 
"It was the tale of two halves for us," said Utah Valley head coach Todd Phillips. "We played really well in the first half. You have to put to halves together and we just didn't do that tonight. I thought our guys played hard but they (Tarleton) amped up their pressure and punched us in the mouth a little bit. We have to be able to respond to that and score the ball."
 
Potter knocked down 7 of 11 shots from the field and connected on 5 of 6 shots at the free throw line for his career-high 19 points. He also pulled down a career-high eight rebounds with one block. 
 
"Potter has stepped up and is playing really well right now," said Phillips. "We need to continue to get him touches on the ball. He's been a real bright spot and I'm happy to see it."
 
Jaden McClanahan was in double figures with 10 points. He connected on 3 of 8 shots from the floor with one bucket from 3-point range. He also dished out three assists with three rebounds.
 
Drake Allen scored eight points, while Tanner Toolson and Trevin Dorius each added six. Dorius also pulled down five rebounds with four blocks. Allen had five rebounds with a team-high four assists. Caleb Stone-Carrawell and K'mani Doughty each notched five points. 
 
Utah Valley shot 35% (21-60) on the night with a 21.1% (4-19) mark from long range. The Wolverines shot 75% (15-20) at the free throw line. Tarleton State shot 45% (27-60) from the field with a 53.3% (8-15) mark from beyond the arc. The Texans shot 71.4% (10-14) from the charity stripe. 
 
Utah Valley outrebounded Tarleton State 39-38 and outscored the Texans 32-22 in the paint. 
 
Utah Valley continues play at home on Saturday against Abilene Christian. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and over the air waves on ESPN 960 AM radio. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Utah Valley fell behind 5-0 through the first two minutes of the game. Trevin Dorius then scored and was fouled to spark an 18-4 run over the next seven minutes to give UVU an 18-9 lead with 11 minutes remaining in the first half. UVU then built up a 13-point lead, 25-12, with 7:36 to go in the half. The Wolverines then outscored the Texans 13-11 over the final over the final seven minutes to take a 38-23 lead into the break. 
 
Second Half
Tarleton State outscored Utah Valley 17-5 through the first eight minutes of the second half to cut the UVU lead to just three points, 43-40, with 12 minutes to go in the game. The Texans then scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 48-45 lead with 10:39 on the clock. The two teams then played through six lead changes and two ties before Tarleton went on a 5-0 run to take a 60-55 lead with four minutes to go. Tarleton State outscored the Wolverines 12-6 the rest of the way to secure the 72-61 win over UVU.