Utah Valley Drops Close Contest In WAC Opener To Abilene Christian
Dec 31, 2021, 10:39 AM
UVU guard Blaze Nield (Courtesy of Utah Valley Athletics)
(Courtesy of Utah Valley Athletics)
OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley Wolverines were not able to pick up win at home in their WAC opener against Abilene Christian, falling to the Wildcats 80-76.
The game changed leads five times and was tied once but the score indicated a much closer contest. The Wildcats outscored the Wolverines 38-35 in the first half and took care of business in the second half by scoring 42 points and holding UVU to 41.
Blaze Nield led the charge with 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the floor and 7-for-9 from beyond the arc. Fardaws Aimaq added another double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds for Utah Valley.
Final #GoUVU #UVU #UVUmbb pic.twitter.com/XkJ3xC0fQr
— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) December 31, 2021
The Wolverines shot 58% from the field, 52% from the three-point line and attempted just eight free throws.
Airion Simmons dropped 21 points to lead Abilene Christian. Cameron Steele chipped in 17 points and nine rebounds. The Wildcats shot 49% from the floor and 40% from the perimeter.
The difference in the game was Abilene Christian had just six turnovers, while UVU committed 17 turnovers.
The Wolverines dropped their record to 9-4 overall and 0-1 in WAC play. They will be back home on Saturday, January 1 to face Tarleton State at 2 p.m. MT on ESPN+.
