OREM — Jackson Holcombe scored a career-high 25 points as Utah Valley opened Western Athletic Conference play with a 73-66 win over California Baptist on Monday night at the UCCU Center.
Utah Valley improved to 11-3 overall and 1-0 in WAC play, extending its home winning streak to 19 games, the fifth-longest active home streak in the nation. The Wolverines have not lost at the UCCU Center since March 2, 2024. California Baptist falls to 10-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.
"It was a great win against a really good team," head coach Todd Phillips said. "It's always a puncher's fight with Cal Baptist. You get hit, you've got to respond, and then they respond. I'm really proud of our guys for staying with it all night."
California Baptist scored the first five points of the game before Utah Valley answered with a 6-2 run to take an 8-7 lead four minutes in. The Lancers responded with a 7-2 spurt to go back in front, 14-10, but Utah Valley countered behind a jumper from Isaac Hawkins and back-to-back baskets from Hayden Welling to spark a 10-2 run and regain a 20-16 advantage with 9:26 left in the half.
CBU answered again with eight straight points to retake a 24-20 lead before the Wolverines scored six of the next eight to tie the game at 26-26 with 4:49 remaining. The teams traded leads down the stretch, but California Baptist closed the half on a 6-0 run to take a 39-33 lead into the break.
Utah Valley opened the second half with six unanswered points and used a 9-2 run to regain the lead, 42-41, just under two minutes in. California Baptist briefly pushed back in front with a 9-3 run, but the Wolverines answered again, scoring eight straight points to take a 53-50 lead with 11:32 remaining.
The teams battled through eight lead changes over the next several minutes before Utah Valley seized control. A 10-2 run gave the Wolverines a 69-62 lead with 3:23 to play, and Utah Valley held California Baptist to just four points over the final stretch to secure the seven-point victory.
"Our emphasis in those huddles is always defense," Holcombe said. "We always say we win games on defense. We really took pride in getting stops down the stretch."
Holcombe finished with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting and added five assists, four steals, three rebounds, and a block. Trevan Leonhardt also reached double figures with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while dishing out eight assists to go with three rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Hawkins added nine points off the bench.
Phillips credited Utah Valley's ability to defend late and feed off the environment at the UCCU Center, noting the energy and pace as factors in wearing teams down.
"There's an energy in this gym that our guys buy into," Phillips said. "The altitude plays a role, and we just keep pushing. When teams get tired, you start to see mental mistakes, and I thought we got some big stops when we needed them."
Utah Valley shot 53.6 percent (30-of-56) from the field but struggled at the free-throw line, going 9-of-20. California Baptist shot 51.1 percent overall and 3-of-13 from three-point range. The Lancers outrebounded the Wolverines 36-21, but Utah Valley outscored CBU 50-34 in the paint.
Utah Valley now heads to Texas for a two-game WAC road swing, opening at Tarleton State on Thursday at 6 p.m. MT before traveling to Abilene Christian on Saturday at 2 p.m. MT. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and on ESPN The Fan.
