OREM—Jackson Holcombe scored 16 points to lead five Wolverines in double figures as Utah Valley defeated UT Arlington, 86–74, on Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center in a matchup of teams tied for first place in the WAC standings. The win extends UVU's home win streak to 22 games, tying the longest home win streak in program history.
Utah Valley improves to 15–4 overall and remains atop the WAC at 5–1. UT Arlington drops to 12–6 and 4–2 in league play.
The Wolverines blitzed out to a 10–0 lead in the opening three minutes, highlighted by a rare six-point sequence after Trevan Leonhardt hit a jumper as Isaac Davis was fouled, drew a flagrant, and Leonhardt knocked down both free throws before scoring again on the ensuing possession. A Hendricks dunk stretched the margin to 16–3, and a Housley three capped a 12–3 spurt that pushed UVU's lead to 28–8 with 10 minutes left in the first half. UVU took a 46–28 lead into the locker room.
UT Arlington trimmed the margin to 57–44 with 13:28 remaining and later used a 5–0 burst to get within 65–57 at the 8:27 mark. Hendricks answered with five straight points to spark a 17–4 run, capped by a Hayden Welling dunk that stretched UVU's lead to 82–61 with 3:27 to play. UTA closed with a 13–4 run, but UVU's lead held comfortably down the stretch.
Holcombe finished with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal. Leonhardt added 14 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Davis also scored 14 points with five boards, while Welling posted 14 points and Hendricks chipped in 12 points, four rebounds, and two steals.
Utah Valley shot 53.3 percent (32–60) from the field and 33.3 percent (5–15) from three, while holding UTA to 42.9 percent (24–56) shooting and 30 percent (6–20) from deep. The Wolverines held a 34–32 edge on the glass and outscored the Mavericks 54–32 in the paint.
Casmere Chavis led UT Arlington with 20 points and Marcell McCreary added 15.
Utah Valley now heads out on the road for three straight, beginning Wednesday, Jan. 21 at Southern Utah at 6:30 p.m. The Wolverines will then travel to California Baptist on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. Both games will air live on ESPN+ and on the Wolverine Sports Network/ESPN The Fan (960 AM/103.9 FM in Utah County and 98.3/105.1 FM (HD2) in Salt Lake City, with streaming at ESPNTheFan.com).
