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Utah Valley University Athletics

Home of the Utah Valley University Wolverines
Cory Wells SUU
59
Southern Utah SUU 12-17,4-11 WAC
100
Winner Utah Valley UVU 21-7,13-1 WAC
Southern Utah SUU
12-17,4-11 WAC
59
Final
100
Utah Valley UVU
21-7,13-1 WAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southern Utah SUU 24 35 59
Utah Valley UVU 52 48 100

Next Game:

at Abilene Christian

3/6/2025 | 6:00 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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Full Schedule
Mar. 06 (Thu) / 6:00 p.m. MT
at Abilene Christian
History

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Wolverines Complete Perfect Home Season with 100-59 Win Over SUU

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OREM—Dominick Nelson and Tanner Toolson each scored 17 points to lead Utah Valley to a 100-59 win over in-state foe Southern Utah on Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center, as the Wolverines wrapped up their home schedule with a perfect 12-0 record—the first undefeated home season in program history.

Utah Valley improves to 21-7 overall and remains alone atop the WAC standings at 13-1. The Wolverines have now won 16 of their last 17 games and extended their winning streak to six straight. A Grand Canyon loss at Seattle U tonight would clinch at least a share of the WAC regular season title for UVU.

"It's something we've talked about since before the season even started," said Utah Valley head coach Todd Phillips. "We set a goal to be the best we could be at home, and the guys bought into that right from the beginning. It's a great milestone for this team and speaks to the culture we're building."

It marks the second time this season Utah Valley has hit the century mark, after also scoring 119 points in a win over Bethesda on Dec. 28. It's just the third time in history that UVU has scored 100 or more points against a WAC opponent, joining a 123-point outburst at Chicago State during the 2008-09 season and a 113-point performance against Stephen F. Austin in 2022-23.

Nelson scored his 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including a three-pointer, while going a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. He added five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block.

"We wanted to attack the paint—it was a big emphasis from Coach Phillips and Coach Jacobson," said Nelson. "We know we're at our best when we're finishing around the rim, and we've got a lot of guys who can get to the basket and score."

Toolson went 7-for-10 from the field and knocked down a pair of threes to finish with 17 points. He also had four rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal.

Cory Wells provided a major spark off the bench, scoring a career-high 12 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting, including a highlight-reel dunk that had the Wolverine bench and fans erupting.

"That was nasty," Nelson said of Wells' dunk. "That's a SportsCenter Top 10 play for sure."

Carter Welling also reached double figures with 11 points, four rebounds, and two blocks. Ethan Potter and Jackson Holcombe each chipped in double-digit scoring efforts with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Utah Valley shot a blistering 60% (39-of-65) from the field, including 43.8% (7-of-16) from long range. The Wolverines held Southern Utah to just 34.4% (21-of-61) shooting, including 16.7% (3-of-18) from beyond the arc.

UVU dominated the boards with a 42-30 advantage and outscored the Thunderbirds 56-30 in the paint. Utah Valley's bench delivered a huge performance, outscoring SUU's reserves 49-20.

"Our bench has been a strength all year," said Phillips. "To see guys like Cory, Jackson, Ethan, and Noah (Taitz) come in and make an immediate impact just shows how deep and unselfish this team is."

The game also carried extra meaning as the Wolverines wore JST shirts in warmups to honor Jeffrey S. Tuminez, the late husband of UVU President Dr. Astrid Tuminez.

"It meant a lot," said Nelson. "He was at almost every game supporting us, so we wanted to show our support for President Tuminez and her family. We're grateful for all they've done for us."

With home play complete, the Wolverines now turn their attention to the final week of the regular season with a two-game Texas road trip. UVU will face Abilene Christian on Thursday, March 6, before taking on Tarleton State on Saturday, March 8. Utah Valley has already secured no worse than the No. 2 seed at the WAC Tournament, set for March 12-15 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

"We just need to keep staying together," Nelson added. "We know it's going to be tough at Abilene and especially at Tarleton, but this team has stuck together all year, and we need to keep doing that heading into Vegas."

How It Happened

First Half
Utah Valley raced out to an 11-2 lead in the first five minutes. Southern Utah answered with six of the next nine points to trim the lead to 14-8 with 12:40 remaining.

A Holcombe layup followed by Wells' electric dunk sparked a dominant 22-3 Wolverine run over the next 6:42, pushing the lead to 36-11 with 5:58 left in the half. SUU put together a brief 7-2 spurt, but UVU responded by outscoring the T-Birds 14-6 to take a commanding 52-24 lead into the break.

"I was really happy with how we came out," Phillips said. "I challenged the guys to play with great energy right from the start, and they responded. We defended well, got out in transition, and really played championship basketball."

Second Half
The Wolverines maintained their 28-point cushion through the first five minutes of the second half, leading 62-34. UVU then used a 7-3 run to extend the lead to 69-37 with 12:34 to play.

The lead swelled to 34 points, 81-47, with just under eight minutes remaining. Utah Valley kept its foot on the gas, building a 90-55 lead with 3:47 to go, and closed the game on a 10-4 run to hit the century mark in a dominant 100-59 victory.

"I think the key for us moving forward is just embracing this time of year," said Phillips. "It's March. These are fun games, but they're high pressure too. We need to enjoy the wins, but also stay locked in on getting better every single day."
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Jackson Holcombe

#2 Jackson Holcombe

G
6' 7"
Redshirt Freshman
Ethan Potter

#35 Ethan Potter

F
6' 8"
Junior
Tanner Toolson

#5 Tanner Toolson

G
6' 5"
Redshirt Sophomore
Carter Welling

#22 Carter Welling

F
6' 10"
Sophomore
Cory Wells

#13 Cory Wells

F
6' 7"
Graduate Student
Dominick Nelson

#0 Dominick Nelson

G
6' 5"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Jackson Holcombe

#2 Jackson Holcombe

6' 7"
Redshirt Freshman
G
Ethan Potter

#35 Ethan Potter

6' 8"
Junior
F
Tanner Toolson

#5 Tanner Toolson

6' 5"
Redshirt Sophomore
G
Carter Welling

#22 Carter Welling

6' 10"
Sophomore
F
Cory Wells

#13 Cory Wells

6' 7"
Graduate Student
F
Dominick Nelson

#0 Dominick Nelson

6' 5"
Junior
G

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