OREM—Jackson Holcombe scored 23 points and Tyler Hendricks added 14 to lead Utah Valley to an 89–72 victory over Southern Utah on Thursday night at the UCCU Center, pushing the Wolverines' home win streak to 20 games.
Utah Valley (13–4, 3–1 WAC) owns the sixth-longest active home win streak in the nation. Southern Utah fell to 4–12 overall and 0–3 in conference play.
Utah Valley opened with a 10–3 lead behind three early makes from Trevan Leonhardt and led 15–7 before Southern Utah trimmed the margin to 17–14. The Wolverines answered with an 8–3 run to go up 25–17, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Tanner Hayhurst cut the lead to 25–23 with 9:32 left in the half. UVU held a steady advantage the rest of the period and took a 46–39 lead into halftime.
UVU stretched the lead to 54–44 early in the second half, then used an 11–2 run sparked by a Holcombe finish and a Hendricks 3-pointer to go up 65–46 with 11:10 remaining. Southern Utah cut it to 70–57, but consecutive threes from Leonhardt and Noah Taitz keyed a 10–2 surge capped by an Isaac Davis dunk for an 80–59 lead with 4:54 to play. The Wolverines maintained control from there.
Holcombe shot 9 of 14 from the field and added nine rebounds and five assists. Hendricks finished 5 of 10 with five rebounds, while Taitz scored 11 points with six boards. Isaac Hawkins added 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting off the bench along with three rebounds and two blocks.
Utah Valley shot 54.5% from the field and 41.2% from 3-point range. Southern Utah shot 41.7% overall and 47.8% from beyond the arc. UVU held a 45–29 rebounding edge and a 56–26 advantage in points in the paint.
Head coach Todd Phillips credited his team's efficiency and ball movement, noting UVU's season-long trend in field goal percentage. He said the Wolverines "are one of the best in the country right now," and that he was "really proud of the way they share the ball," with 25 assists in the win. Phillips said turnovers remain an area of focus after the Wolverines committed 15, adding that "it should be 10," and that the program will "continue to preach" ball security.
After Southern Utah shot well from 3-point range in the first half, Phillips said Utah Valley made defensive adjustments at the break, limiting the Thunderbirds to just eight attempts from deep in the second half. He praised the team's halftime response, saying the Wolverines "took some of those guys away," calling it "really good" progress for a group still developing defensively.
Phillips also highlighted the bench contributions, pointing to Hawkins' perfect shooting night and overall efficiency. "We have some other guys that can step up and play," he said, noting the importance of depth in WAC play.
Utah Valley hosts in-state rival Utah Tech on Saturday in the Old Hammer Rivalry game. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. MT on ESPN+, with radio coverage on ESPN The Fan.
