Blaze Nield Hits Big Three Late To Lift Utah Valley Over Long Beach State In OT
Nov 17, 2021, 10:49 PM
(Photo courtesy of Utah Valley Athletics)
SALT LAKE CITY – Blaze Nield nailed a clutch three-pointer to lift Utah Valley past Long Beach State with an 84-78 win in overtime on Wednesday night.
Utah Valley was trailing by one point with 41 seconds left in overtime when Blaze Nield hit a three-pointer to put the Wolverines up by two points.
Long Beach State missed a jump shot with 28 seconds left and was forced to foul. Fardaws Aimaq made both free throws and held a four-point advantage. LBS missed another three-pointer and Justin Harmon iced the game with two free throws.
Nield finished with 19 points, three rebounds and three assists, while shooting 8-for-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from the three-point line. Aimaq had a team-high 25 points and 16 rebounds. Connor Harding chipped in 16 points and six boards.
Long Beach State with four in double-figures led by Joel Murray with 18, but @LBSUHoops falls in overtime against Utah Valley 84-78. #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/9fPYbvA3Q2
— LBSU Mens Basketball (@LBSUhoops) November 18, 2021
It was a tightly contested battle throughout with the game being tied 18 times and 17 lead changes. Utah Valley outscored Long Beach State 31-28 in the first half before the home team returned the favor in the second half by outscoring the Wolverines 40-37 to force overtime. UVU dropped 16 points and allowed just 10 in the extra period.
Utah Valley improved their record to 3-1 on the season. They will begin the SoCal Challenge on Monday, November 22 when they take on Idaho at 3:30 p.m. MT at The Pavilion at JSerra in San Juan Capistrano, California.