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Utah Valley University Athletics

Home of the Utah Valley University Wolverines
Carter Welling SUU
Treyson Andersen
70
Winner Utah Valley UVU 18-7,10-1 WAC
68
Southern Utah SUU 11-15,3-9 WAC
Winner
Utah Valley UVU
18-7,10-1 WAC
70
Final
68
Southern Utah SUU
11-15,3-9 WAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Utah Valley UVU 32 38 70
Southern Utah SUU 33 35 68

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2/20/2025 | 7:00 p.m. MT

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960 AM/103.9 FM Utah County/98.3 FM/101.5 FM HD2 in SLC

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Feb. 20 (Thu) / 7:00 p.m. MT
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History

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Wolverines Hold Off Southern Utah Late in 70-68 Road Victory

CEDAR CITY—Carter Welling and Tanner Toolson each scored 17 points to lead Utah Valley to a 70-68 road win over in-state rival Southern Utah on Saturday night at the America First Event Center.

Utah Valley has now won 13 of its last 14 games as the Wolverines improve to 18-7 overall. UVU remains atop the WAC standings with a 10-1 record.

The Wolverines led by 11 points, 66-55, with 2:36 to play, but Southern Utah used a 10-3 run over the next 2:15 to cut the UVU lead to three points, 68-65, with 21 seconds to go. Toolson then knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the UVU lead to five points, 70-65, with 14 seconds on the clock. SUU's Jamir Simpson threw in a contested long three to get the T-Birds within two, 70-68, with 3.2 seconds to play. UVU inbounded the ball to Trevan Leonhardt, who launched the ball high down the floor to run out the clock as the Wolverines secured the win.

"It made me nervous because I'm just watching that clock," said Utah Valley head coach Todd Phillips. "But yeah, really heads-up play by Trev, a really smart guy. We told the team it was going to be a battle, and we were right. It was a heck of a battle."

Welling scored his 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and a 7-of-14 clip at the free throw line. He was just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. He also had three blocks and three steals.

Toolson knocked down 6-of-11 shots from the field, including three from long range. He also dished out two assists and pulled down a pair of rebounds.

Dominick Nelson scored 10 points with five rebounds, while Kylin Green came off the bench to provide a spark, scoring 10 points with two assists.

Utah Valley shot 46.9% (23-of-49) from the floor with a 36.4% (4-of-11) mark from three-point range. UVU held SUU to 38% (27-of-71) shooting with a 33.3% (6-of-18) clip from beyond the arc. The Wolverines struggled from the free throw line, shooting 58.8% (20-of-34) compared to SUU's 80% (8-of-10).

"The week off was not kind to us," Phillips said. "We worked on free throws all week, and then we missed a bunch down the stretch. We've been actually pretty good this year, but that made the game tighter than it needed to be."

SUU outrebounded UVU 41-37, including a 17-9 advantage on the offensive boards.

"They kicked our butt on the boards, which, again, we've been pretty good at all year," Phillips said. "(Jamir) Simpson is a beast. He's broad in the shoulders, and the ball kind of bounces back to him. We've got to go back to the drawing board and iron some things out for next week."

Utah Valley will continue WAC road play in the southern end of the state on Thursday, Feb. 20, in St. George against in-state foe Utah Tech in an Old Hammer Rivalry game. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and carried on the Wolverine Sports Network and ESPN The Fan (960 AM/103.9 FM in Utah County, 98.3 FM/101.5 HD2 in Salt Lake County).

HOW IT HAPPENED
First half
Utah Valley went up 4-2 to start the game and then used an 11-2 run to take an 11-4 lead with 15:31 on the clock. SUU then scored five of the next nine points to cut the UVU lead to just one, 13-12, with 11 minutes to play in the half. UVU continued to hold a one-point lead, 17-16, at the 9:10 mark, but the T-Birds then went on a 10-2 run over the next 2:43 to take a 24-19 lead with 6:47 remaining. The Wolverines responded with an 8-2 run to retake the lead, 27-26, with 3:10 to go in the half. SUU then outscored UVU 7-6 the rest of the way to take a 33-32 lead into the break.

Second half

UVU outscored SUU 7-4 through the first 4:30 of the second half to take a 39-37 lead. SUU briefly went in front, 41-40, before the Wolverines responded with a 7-2 run to take a 46-43 advantage with 12:54 to go. UVU held on to its three-point lead, 53-50, with eight minutes to play.

Toolson then made a driving layup and followed with a three-pointer to extend the Wolverines' lead to eight, 58-50, with 6:34 on the clock. The T-Birds scored five of the next eight points to cut the UVU lead to six, 61-55, with 3:46 remaining. The Wolverines answered with five unanswered points to extend their lead to 11, 66-55, with 2:36 to go.

Southern Utah then used a 10-3 run over the next 2:15 to cut the UVU lead to three, 68-65, with 21 seconds to go. Toolson knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead back to five, 70-65, with 14 seconds left. Simpson then banked in a deep three to get SUU within two, 70-68, with 3.2 seconds on the clock. UVU inbounded the ball to Leonhardt, who heaved it down the floor to run out the clock as the Wolverines held on for the win.
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Trevan Leonhardt

#10 Trevan Leonhardt

G
6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore
Tanner Toolson

#5 Tanner Toolson

G
6' 5"
Redshirt Sophomore
Kylin Green

#3 Kylin Green

G
6' 0"
Junior
Carter Welling

#22 Carter Welling

F
6' 10"
Sophomore
Dominick Nelson

#0 Dominick Nelson

G
6' 5"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Trevan Leonhardt

#10 Trevan Leonhardt

6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore
G
Tanner Toolson

#5 Tanner Toolson

6' 5"
Redshirt Sophomore
G
Kylin Green

#3 Kylin Green

6' 0"
Junior
G
Carter Welling

#22 Carter Welling

6' 10"
Sophomore
F
Dominick Nelson

#0 Dominick Nelson

6' 5"
Junior
G

Facilities