But off the court, it’s hardly business as usual for UVU Athletics.

News broke just hours prior to Thursday’s game that the Western Athletic Conference isn’t all too happy with the Wolverines these days, and took specific action that places their athletic program’s postseason play in jeopardy. It all has to do regarding a $1 million exit fee

The WAC filed a lawsuit against UVU earlier in the week in district court in Tarrant County, Texas, stating UVU was, “contractually obligated exit fee in the amount of $1 million.” The fee was due on Jan. 31 of this year and the failure to pay puts UVU as a program not within good standing with the conference, according to the 14-page lawsuit. Congruent to how the WAC views the Wolverines, it is now barring them from WAC and NCAA postseason play along with not permitted to appear on conference-sponsored television, radio or other media packages.

A daunting prospect that every member of the team became well aware of prior to Thursday’s game which could cause at least some type of distraction.

As Phillips took the podium during his postgame press conference, he mentioned how the issue of UVU’s battle with the WAC conference has been addressed within the locker room.

“We talked about it,” Phillips said. “I think the great thing with these guys is we’ve been through a lot this year, you know, with a lot of different things, up and down and and we just keep moving forward…To be honest, of all the things I’m worried about that has been the bottom of my list, you know? And I think with our guys hitting them with that’s bottom to their list too. Hey, we got games. We got a huge one on Saturday. We got to get ready to play. And those things are out of our control, and they’ll get handled.”

As far as what Phillips and his players can handle, it’s what’s going on directly on the hardwood, and if Thursday’s performance is any indication, they’re locked in.

After struggling to a tight 26-24 lead at the half, the Wolverines kicked it in gear in the second half, eventually overwhelming the visiting Wildcats with a high level of execution on both ends of the court. UVU shot a blistering 65% from the field during the second half and quickly extended its lead to double-digits before emptying the bench during the final three minutes of play.

“We actually slowed down, caught it, looked ball fake, and then threw it in and got easy ones,” Phillips said regarding the second half turnaround. “You know, we skipped out for the threes. We threw it inside for easy layups and that really loosened some stuff up…I’m just proud of the guys to make some adjustments at halftime and to score some easy ones.”

Leading the way for the Wolverines was Tyler Hendricks, who scored a game-high 18 points, which included a 3-5 effort from behind the arc.

“That’s what we expect from him,” Phillips said of Hendricks’ performance. “…When he’s knocking down shots, that just gives us a lot more firepower. So, so happy with him.”

For Hendricks, the prospect of the WAC barring UVU from postseason play was just one of two potential distractions. Two days prior it was announced that his brother, Taylor Hendricks, had been traded from the Utah Jazz to the Memphis Grizzlies. Taylor is often seen attending little brother’s home basketball games with the two of them enjoying a strong relationship.

“Obviously I was a little sad about it a little bit, but, you know, it’s the nature of NBA,” Tyler Hendricks said. “It’s a business, and I think it’s like, a fresh start for Taylor. So it’s gonna be exciting to see him go out there and play.”

As for Utah Valley, the win improves its record to 17-6 on the season and 7-3 mark in WAC conference play, which has it tied with Cal Baptist on top of the standings. The win was also the 23rd straight for the Wolverines, who have enjoyed a considerable home advantage stretching back to last season.

I think the fans is probably the number one thing for us,” Tyler Hendricks said regarding the home dominance. “They get us going. It gets it done. They’re gonna roar, you know, so that gets us going.”

Next up for the Wolverines is a home game versus UT Arlington before heading back out on the road to take on Utah Tech.