CEDAR CITY—Jackson Holcombe recorded a career-high 26 points and 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season, but Utah Valley fell to Southern Utah, 84–70, on Wednesday night at America First Event Center.
Utah Valley drops to 15–5 overall and 5–2 in WAC play, moving into a tie for first place with UT Arlington. Southern Utah improves to 7–13 overall and 3–4 in conference play. The Thunderbirds have won three straight, all at home.
The teams traded five lead changes in the opening four minutes before Southern Utah used a 9–4 run to take a 19–13 lead with 11:24 left in the first half. Utah Valley answered with a 7–2 spurt to pull within 21–20, but the Thunderbirds rebuilt a six-point cushion at 30–24 with 5:36 on the clock. A Leonhardt layup and a Hawkins alley-oop dunk helped spark a 10–5 UVU run to close the period, trimming the deficit to 35–34 at halftime.
Four more lead changes came early in the second half, with UVU briefly taking a 44–42 lead after back-to-back threes from Trevan Leonhardt and Noah Taitz. Southern Utah responded with a 13–3 run to build a 55–47 advantage with 10:26 remaining. A Braden Housley three cut the margin to 58–54 with just over eight minutes to go, but the Thunderbirds countered with a 17–7 push to extend the lead to 75–61 with 3:27 left. Holcombe scored nine straight points to bring the Wolverines within 75–70 at the 2:09 mark, but SUU closed with an 8–0 run to seal the win.
Holcombe finished 11-for-19 from the field and added four assists, three steals, and two blocks to his double-double line. Leonhardt added 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Isaac Hawkins chipped in 10 points off the bench.
Utah Valley shot 37.1% (26-for-70) from the field and 23.1% (6-for-26) from three, while Southern Utah shot 50.9% (28-for-55) overall and 52.2% (12-for-23) from deep. The Thunderbirds won the rebounding battle 42–35, while UVU held a 40–30 edge in points in the paint.
Utah Valley continues its road swing on Saturday at California Baptist. Tipoff in Riverside is set for 6 p.m. MT on ESPN+, with radio coverage on ESPN The Fan.
