Utah Valley Drops First WAC Game In Loss To Tarleton State

OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley Wolverines lost their first conference game of the season, falling to Tarleton State 70-62 on Saturday night in Orem.

After picking up a 73-60 win on Friday night, Utah Valley couldn’t complete the sweep over Tarleton State.

Trey Woodbury was the only Wolverine to score in double figures with 13 points. Fardaws Aimaq added 9 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocks. Blaze Nield knocked down 3 three-pointers and finished with 9 points.

For Tarleton State, Montre Gipson led the way with 24 points. Jonathan Jackson chipped in 16 points, while Tahj Small and Shakur Daniel scored 10 points apiece.

Final in Orem. We’ll be back in the UCCU Center on February 12 and 13 at 6 pm vs. in-state rival Dixie State!#UVU #GoUVU #WAChoops pic.twitter.com/zwlGBQkmBS

— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) January 31, 2021

It was a tough first half for Utah Valley as they were outscored 31-24 but a lot of it was the effective scoring from the Texans. Tarleton State shot 11-of-27 from the field and a blistering 5-for-7 from the three-point line in the first 20 minutes. The Texans also benefited from 10 points off of 8 UVU turnovers. JJ Overton had 8 points in the half before missing the entire second half to an elbow injury.

Tarleton State had a huge first half performance from Montre Gipson, who had 14 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.

In the second half, it was close at times they pulled within 5 points but every time they trimmed the deficit, Tarleton State would make a couple of big shots. What put the game away was UVU going over three minutes in the final five minutes of the contest.

Utah Valley dropped to 6-7 overall and 4-1 in WAC play. Since Chicago State opted out of the rest of the season, the Wolverines will have next week off. They will next be in action on Friday, February 12 when they host Dixie State at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. MST and will be streamed on the KSL TV app.