Utah Valley looked like it was well on its way to a victory with 9:12 remaining in its WAC tournament semifinal game against UT Arlington Friday night.
The Wolverines had grabbed a game-high 58-42 lead on a Trevan Leonhardt 3, capping a 9-0 run that had followed an 8-0 spurt earlier in the second half to break the game open.
The Mavericks had other plans though, as they made the contest go down to the wire at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
But UVU, after enduring a 19-4 UT Arlington run and then watching the Mavericks tie the game at 65-65 in the final minute, finally could breathe easy when Isaac Hawkins blocked a shot in the lane from Bahsil Laster, then a Raysean Seamster desperation 3 was off the mark as time expired.
The stop came moments after the Wolverines’ leading scorer, Jackson Holcombe, hit two pressure-filled free throws to give UVU the go-ahead points in an eventual 67-65 win, and it clinched the Wolverines’ second straight trip to the WAC tournament championship game.
“When he drove in there, we got the block, you’re ecstatic. I thought we had the ball, and then they get that shot and your heart sinks,” UVU coach Todd Phillips told reporters about the final sequence.
“Your heart sinks because you think the worst all the time and it hit the rim. It’s a huge stop for us and just proud of our guys.”
If UVU wins Saturday night (10 p.m. MDT, ESPN2) in the WAC tournament title game, the Wolverines will clinch their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
They’ll play the winner of No. 2 seed Cal Baptist for the championship, after the Lancers beat No. 3 seed Utah Tech 86-72 in Friday’s second semifinal.
“There’s a lot to clean up, but rest is the most important,” Phillips said about preparing for Saturday night’s championship game. “You gotta get rest here and get guys ready to go because it’s, you know, it’s about how hard you can play.
“You’re gonna make some mistakes, you’re gonna make some great plays and you just got to be able to be able to fight through the 40 minutes. It’s like rest, rest, rest for these guys. We’ll get them hydrated a lot and be ready to go.”
The top seeded Wolverines needed every ounce of grit and determination they could afford in holding off the No. 4 seed Mavericks Friday.
Holcombe and Leonhardt again led the way for UVU (25-7), though there were a cast of Wolverines who stepped up.
With 1:02 to play, Holcombe made 1 of 2 free throws to give UVU a 65-63 lead, then UT Arlington, which trailed for more than 36 minutes, finally tied the game on two Casmir Chavis free throws with 46.4 seconds to go.
UVU didn’t take a timeout to reset and instead jumped into its offense.
After an early shot was blocked, the Wolverines reset following an offensive rebound, and with the shot clock running down, Leonhardt drove into the lane, then found Holcombe, who put up a shot and was fouled.
While the shot missed, Holcombe headed to the line to potentially give UVU the lead.
Regaining the lead was no guarantee — the Wolverines are the WAC’s worst free-throw shooting team, and on Friday, they made just 16 of 26 attempts from the charity stripe.
Holcombe, though, shook off the pressure and calmly made both free throws to put UVU ahead 67-65.
Holcombe, who had 14 points, four rebounds and two assists, scored eight of UVU’s final nine points, including a short, left-handed jumper with 1:47 left for the Wolverines’ first field goal in three minutes, which gave UVU a 64-61 lead.
Leonhardt, too, came up big in key moments in the second half. After being held to two points in the first half, he scored 10 in the second half, including a pair of 3-pointers as part of that 9-0 run that gave UVU a game-high 16-point lead.
Leonhardt also had team highs with seven rebounds and three assists.
“We’re in a good spot to go to March Madness tomorrow,” Leonhardt said.
UVU used a balanced attack — 10 players scored points — and got double-figures from Sherman Weatherspoon IV (11 points on three 3s) and Braden Housley (10, his third double-figure game of the year).
“Feeling good. Got one more to go,” Housley said.
The first half was a back-and-forth, grind-it-out effort before the Wolverines took a 33-29 lead into the break.
UVU’s biggest lead over the first 20 minutes was only five points, and UT Arlington, despite dealing with foul trouble by its top two scorers — Marcell McCreary and Seamster — got 22 points from its bench.
Seamster heated up in the second half and ended up with 14 points, while Tyran Mason came off the bench and added 14 points and seven rebounds.
Laster stepped up, too, scoring a career-high tying 18 points — 11 more than his average — and added six rebounds, an assist and a steal as UT Arlington’s bench outscored UVU’s 35-16.
It was fitting that he ended up with the chance to tie the game late, but Hawkins, the 6-foot-10 junior forward, made the defensive play of the game as UVU escaped.
Hawkins, who scored six points and had six rebounds, finished with four of the Wolverines’ six blocks.
There are things to work on for UVU — the Wolverines were outscored 40-26 in paint points and had 13 turnovers that the Mavericks turned into 16 points — but the Wolverines benefitted from shooting 47.8% and outrebounding UT Arlington 33-29.
If they can win one more, the Wolverines will make history with their first NCAA Tournament trip in school history.
“I think at this time of year, playing a championship game is motivation enough,” Phillips said. “Trying to get to the NCAA Tournament, to win this WAC tournament, it’s huge motivation for these guys.
“... The motivation is to get out there and play our best basketball and have a chance to go dancing.”
WAC semifinal: Cal Baptist 86, Utah Tech 72
The opportunity to have two Utah schools play in the WAC tournament championship game didn’t come to fruition, even after Utah Tech went into halftime of the night’s second semifinal up 36-35.
Led by WAC Player of the Year Dominique Daniels Jr., Cal Baptist stormed out to a 18-7 run over the first five minutes of the second half to take control in the win.
With the victory, the Lancers will take on Utah Valley for the WAC tournament championship on Saturday night (10 p.m. MDT, ESPN2).
Daniels scored 41 points, including 26 after the half, to lead Cal Baptist in a dominant effort, as it scored 51 points and shot 55.9% in the second half.
During Cal Baptist’s big run to start the final 20 minutes, Utah Tech forward Ethan Potter picked up two quick fouls, giving him four for the game.
He ended up sitting for seven critical minutes, and during that time he was out, Cal Baptist extended its lead as high as 16 points.
Utah Tech (19-15) managed to cut the deficit to 63-55 with an 8-0 run, then got as close as six at 71-65 with 5:52 to play after Potter scored on back-to-back possessions, including an and-one.
That was the last gasp of hope for the Trailblazers, though, as Daniels scored on Cal Baptist’s next possession and a Utah Tech turnover led to fast break points, and it was a 10-point game again.
Potter scored 25 points for the Trailblazers in the losing effort.