OREM—Tyler Hendricks scored a game-high 18 points and Jackson Holcombe added 12 to lead Utah Valley to a 68-55 win over Abilene Christian on Thursday night at the UCCU Center.

Utah Valley improves to 17-6 overall and 7-3 in WAC play. The victory marks the Wolverines' 23rd straight home win, setting a new program record and giving UVU the fourth-longest active home winning streak in the nation. Abilene Christian falls to 10-12 overall and 2-7 in league play.

"Feels amazing, man," Hendricks said of the record-setting streak. "We're going to keep it going. We practice here every day, so we know this gym. And we have great fans. I think the fans are probably the number one thing for us. They get us going."

The teams traded baskets early and were tied 7-7 with 14 minutes remaining in the first half. ACU used a 5-2 spurt to take a 12-9 lead before a Hendricks three-pointer ignited a 17-5 Utah Valley run over the next nine minutes, giving the Wolverines a 26-17 advantage. The Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run over the final 1:51 of the half to trim the deficit to 26-24 at the break.

Head coach Todd Phillips credited both teams' defensive intensity in the opening 20 minutes.

"Obviously, really ugly first half by both teams, or you could say really great defense by both teams," Phillips said. "Abilene does a great job. They speed you up. When you think you have an easy one, all of a sudden there's a guy contesting at the rim."

Utah Valley found its rhythm after halftime, opening the second half on a 14-5 run to build a 40-29 lead. The Wolverines later pushed the advantage to 49-33 before a Hendricks dunk sparked a 15-5 surge that extended the lead to 64-38 with just over six minutes remaining.

Hendricks scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, finishing 7-of-12 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range.

"It was honestly just for us to keep playing our game," Hendricks said of the halftime message. "Our shots weren't going in, but we were taking the right ones. Coach just told us to be strong. They were bumping us a lot, and we just had to be physical back. Keep shooting because they were good shots."

Phillips said the difference came from better execution and patience in the second half.

"We keep talking to the guys about slow is fast," Phillips said. "We slowed down, caught it, ball-faked, and got easy ones. We skipped it out for threes, threw it inside for layups, and that really loosened some stuff up. I think we shot 64 percent in the second half, and that's been pretty consistent with what we've done all year."

Holcombe added 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, along with eight rebounds, five steals, three assists and three blocks. Phillips praised the forward's response after an early first-half substitution.

"He had 12 and eight, six-of-nine," Phillips said. "Teams have him at the top of the scouting report now, so they're taking him away. He's just got to figure it out, and we've got to help him get easy baskets. In the second half, he attacked the rim and scored around the basket. I was really proud of how he stepped up."

Trevan Leonhardt and Isaac Hawkins each scored eight points, while Hayden Welling added seven off the bench.

As a team, Utah Valley shot 51 percent (26-of-51) from the field and held ACU to 38.8 percent (19-of-50). The Wolverines outrebounded the Wildcats 32-28 and dominated the paint, outscoring ACU 42-14 inside.

Phillips said the team remains focused on its larger goals as conference play intensifies.

"Our goal is to win the league," Phillips said. "To do that, we need to win all our home games. This was just another one for us to play."

Utah Valley will continue its homestand Saturday against UT Arlington. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m., with the game broadcast live on ESPN The Fan.