Jake Toolson scored 20 points and Ben Nakwaasah added a career-high 18 to lead Utah Valley to the MGM Main Event Middleweight title with an 87-72 win over Long Beach State on Wednesday afternoon at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
"I'm really proud of our guys," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope. "We've had some confidence, trust and belief issues. We've had some newness issues with guys trying to figure each other out. For our guys to come into this tournament and figure all those tricky dynamics going on and to gut it out two days ago and then to play just great basketball today where we really shared the ball and make plays for one another; I'm just really proud."
Jake Toolson led the Wolverines with 20 points on a perfect 8-for-8 clip from the field, including a 2-of-2 mark from beyond the arc and a perfect 2-of-2 performance from the free-throw line. He also pulled down five rebounds and dished out four assists.
Nakwaasah scored his career-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor, including a 3-of-3 clip from long range. He also knocked down 3-of-4 free throws and pulled down five rebounds with five assists.
Conner Toolson scored 15 points, while Baylee Steele and Isaiah White also reached double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively. As a team, Utah Valley shot a season-best 58 percent (29-of-50) from the field, including a 52 percent (11-of-21) mark from 3-point range.
Utah Valley and Long Beach State played through four lead changes and seven ties during the first 17 minutes of the first half. UVU then used back-to-back-to-back threes by Isaiah White, Ben Nakwaasah and Conner Toolson to go on a 9-0 run and take a 40-28 lead with 1:22 left in the half. The Wolverines took a 41-34 advantage into the break.
The two teams played evenly through the first 12 minutes of the second half until UVU pushed its lead to 12 points, 63-51, on Conner Toolson and Nakwaasah threes. Toolson then gave UVU a 66-53 lead after knocking down a three with seven minutes to play. The Wolverines then out-scored LBSU, 13-9, the rest of the way to secure the win.
Conner Toolson was named the MGM Main Event Middleweight MVP after scoring a combined 38 points the two games at the tournament.
After playing five-straight games on the road, Utah Valley returns to the UCCU Center to take on North Dakota on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.