Kenneth Ogbe scored a career-high 28 points and Jordan Poydras added a career-high 23 points to help lead Utah Valley to its biggest comeback in school history as the Wolverines overcame a 27-point deficit to defeat Denver, 88-85, on Wednesday night at Magness Arena.
"I just wish all of our students and fans could have seen this," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope. "We could not have played worse and could not have been more disoriented in that first half. I didn't have to say much at halftime. Our guys rallied each other like good teams do and they did something amazing. It's an unbelievable job by our guys. I'm so proud of what these guys showed us tonight. This is a huge step forward and a great night for us. I couldn't be more proud."
Utah Valley (3-1) was just five points shy of breaking the all-time NCAA record for biggest deficit overcome to win a game set by Duke, which came back from 32 points down to defeat Tulane in 1950. The 27-point comeback win breaks the previous UVU record set last season when the Wolverines came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat UMKC, 79-70.
Trailing by 27 points, 54-27, with 58 seconds to play in the first half, Utah Valley went on a 6-0 run capped off by a Poydras three to cut the DU lead to 21 points, 54-33, at the half. The Wolverines outscored Denver, 8-3, to open the second half, cutting the Pioneer lead to 15 points, 57-42, with 17:54 to play. The two teams then went back and forth during the next five minutes, as Denver was able to hold on to a 17-point lead, 67-50, with 12 minutes remaining.
Ogbe scored seven points during a five-minute stretch to lead Utah Valley on a 16-2 run to cut the Denver advantage to just three points, 69-66, with 7:54 to play. The Pioneers went up by six points, 73-67, at the 6:49 mark, but UVU countered with a 9-2 run capped off by a Poydras 3-pointer that gave the Wolverines their second lead of the game since the opening minutes, 76-75, with four minutes to go. Utah Valley then outscored Denver, 12-10, in the final minutes and knocked down 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to secure the come-from-behind victory.
Ogbe scored his career-high 28 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-4 clip from beyond the arc. The junior forward also knocked down 11-of-16 free throws. Poydras hit 5-of-11 shots from the floor, including 4-of-8 from long range for his career-high 23 points. He also connected on an impressive 9-of-11 shots from the charity stripe.
Zach Nelson was in double figures with 18 points, connecting on 8-of-10 shots from the field. Nelson also pulled down five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists. Isaac Neilson led the Wolverines on the boards with 10 rebounds to go along with five points and two assists. Brandon Randolph scored seven points and dished out a game-high five assists.
Utah Valley continues road play on Saturday as the team travels down University Parkway for the UCCU Cross Town Clash against BYU. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN 960 AM radio.
Jason Erickson works in the communications office at the Utah Valley University athletic department. For more information on Wolverine athletics, visit WolverineGreen.com.