OREM, Utah – Dominick Nelson scored a game-high 19 points, and Tanner Toolson added 13 to lead Utah Valley to a 94-73 victory over UT Arlington on Thursday night at the UCCU Center, keeping the Wolverines unbeaten at home this season.

Utah Valley (16-7, 8-1 WAC) remains atop the conference standings while snapping UTA's four-game win streak. The Mavericks drop to 11-12 overall and 4-5 in WAC play.

The Wolverines delivered an offensive showcase, knocking down a season-high 14 three-pointers on 46.7% shooting (14-of-30) from deep—their best mark in conference play this season. UVU's 94 points were its second-highest scoring output of the year, and the team matched a season high with 25 assists while committing a season-low four turnovers.

"We shot the crud out of it from three tonight—14-for-30," said Utah Valley head coach Todd Phillips. "Maybe took a couple of bad ones late that hurt our percentage a bit, but it was good to see the ball go in for some guys. We were getting the right guys to take those shots."

Nelson led the way with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. He also added five assists, four rebounds, two steals, and a block.

Toolson chipped in 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting with three three-pointers while also contributing five assists, four rebounds, and three steals.

Trevan Leonhardt stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, a team-high eight assists, and a team-best seven rebounds. He was 2-of-3 from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 from deep, and knocked down all four of his free-throw attempts.

"We got stops, and we're a really good team in transition," Leonhardt said. "We get easy buckets, we get good looks. Playing good defense helps our offense."

Ethan Potter came off the bench to score 10 points, while Osiris Grady and Kylin Green each added nine. Carter Welling and Noah Taitz tallied eight points apiece, and Jackson Holcombe chipped in six.

Utah Valley shot an impressive 53.1% (34-of-64) from the field while limiting UTA to 44.6% (25-of-56). The Mavericks outrebounded UVU 37-33, but the Wolverines held a 36-30 scoring edge in the paint.

Coming off a tough road loss at Grand Canyon, Utah Valley wasted no time re-establishing momentum.

"We weren't happy with last weekend, but that's last week," Leonhardt said. "We're just a team that's trying to get better. We've got a great coaching staff, and that's our focus. I think we've got about a month left until Vegas, so we're trying to get ready for that."
Phillips echoed his guard's sentiment.

"I loved how the guys responded," Phillips said. "Last weekend showed us where we're at, and now, hopefully, we can go on another 10-game win streak. There's still so much we can get better at—consistency, growth—but I'm really happy with where we're at."

The UCCU Center was rocking on Thursday night, with Utah Valley playing in front of its largest home crowd of the season.

"We love it. We love having all the support we've been getting," Leonhardt said. "We try to take care of our home court, and so far, we've done that. Hopefully, people want to keep coming and checking us out. We're really grateful for the support."

Phillips noted the importance of playing at home following last week's loss.

"It was a good week of practice, and it's always good to have three days to prep before a home game," Phillips said. "We've played really well at home, and it gives us a little mojo after a loss to get back on track."

Utah Valley will look to extend its home winning streak on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Tarleton State (10-13, 5-3) at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and broadcast 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 jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead in the opening two minutes, with Nelson scoring five of the team's first seven points. The Wolverines then extended their advantage to 15-6 at the 15:03 mark behind an 8-4 spurt.

A Taitz three-pointer pushed UVU's lead to 21-11 with 12:23 remaining, but UTA answered with seven straight points to cut the deficit to 21-18 with 9:36 on the clock. UVU responded with a 9-4 run, capped by a Leonhardt three, to push its lead back to 30-22 at the 5:50 mark.

The Wolverines closed the half on a strong note, outscoring the Mavericks 13-6 over the final six minutes, including an 8-0 burst in the last two minutes, to take a 43-28 lead into the break.

Despite the lead, Phillips wasn't fully satisfied at halftime.

"I wasn't happy at halftime. We had 43 points, but we left some baskets out there, missed some free throws," he said. "We were playing well, but at one point, I look up and we're only up five. So we challenged them at halftime to put it on in the first five minutes of the second half, and they did that."

Second Half
UVU maintained control early in the second half, extending its lead to 50-34 at the 15:41 mark. The Wolverines then put together an 11-1 run to push the advantage to 60-35 with 12:47 remaining.

UTA managed a brief 9-3 run to trim the deficit to 63-44 with 10:38 to play, but UVU never let the lead dip below 19. The Wolverines led 72-53 with 7:18 left before going on another run, building a game-high 25-point lead at 84-59 with 4:38 remaining.

UVU kept a 20-plus point cushion the rest of the way, closing out the dominant 94-73 win.

"Our guys responded really well in the second half," Phillips said. "We challenged them at halftime to be aggressive in the first five minutes, and they did just that."