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Utah Valley's bench celebrates a moment during the Wolvernine's 63-61 loss to Cal Baptist on Saturday. March 14, 2026

Courtesy UVU Photo

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UVU coach Todd Phillips coaches up his team during a timeout of Saturday's WAC championship game versus Cal Baptist. March 14, 2026

Courtesy UVU Photo

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Utah Valley fans lent their full support for the Wolverines during the WAC championship game at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. March 14, 2026

Courtesy UVU Photo

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Isaac Davis scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds in the Wolverine's 63-61 loss to Cal Baptist on Saturday. March 14, 2026

Courtesy UVU Photo

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Utah Valley's Brayden Housely is introduced prior to the WAC championship game versus Cal Baptist on Saturday. March 14, 2026

Courtesy UVU Photo

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Utah Valley’s hopes of securing a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history came to a crushing end on Saturday with a 63-61 loss to Cal Baptist in the WAC championship game.

Despite leading throughout the second half, and by a 59-52 margin with just over two minutes remaining, a late charge from the Lancers proved too much to overcome.

The culprit of Utah Valley’s woes? Well, that would be Cal Baptist guard Dominique Daniels, who despite going 4-22 from the field until the latter stages of the contest came alive when it mattered most.  The WAC player of the year hit consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game at 60-60 before throwing in the dagger with just 14.6 seconds from the top of the key to give the Lancers a 63-61 lead.

Utah Valley called timeout and worked the offense perfectly, leading to a wide-open dunk attempt from Isaac Davis on an alley-oop. It was the type of dunk Davis throws down 99 out of 100 times, but this time had it rim out with just under two seconds remaining, effectively ending the game and subsequently ending UVU’s NCAA tournament dreams.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” said Utah Valley coach Todd Phillips. “They battled all night and put themselves in a position to win the game. It’s tough when it comes down to one play like that, but our guys showed a lot of heart and toughness.”

The first half saw Utah Valley start off very slow as Cal Baptist jumped out to a 14-4 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining. But Wolverines settled in and took their first lead at 24-23 lead off of a lay-up from Davis before entering the half with the game tied at 26-26.

The second half saw Utah Valley lead throughout, albeit from tight margins for most of the final 20 minutes.

Leading the way for the Wolverines was again Jackson Holcombe, who scored a team-high 18 points while doing most of his best work during the second half in helping his team lead for most of the game’s final 20 minutes. Trevan Leonhardt filled up the stat sheet, scoring just six points, but also pulled down 10 rebounds and passes out eight assists.

Several players stood out during key moments, including center Isaac Hawkins, who checked in midway through the first half to give the then lagging Wolverines a much needed boost. And then there was Sherman Weatherspoon, who hit two big 3-pointers late, which included one with just under four minutes remaining to give the Wolverines a 56-52 lead.

But as mentioned, Daniels poured cold water on all of it, hitting his aforementioned trio of 3-pointers late which ultimately proved too tough to overcome. For the game Daniels went just 7-25 from the field, but managed a 5-13 effort from behind the arc and scored a game-high 23 points.

Davis, meanwhile, had himself a quality game, scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds before his final dunk attempt brutally rimmed-out, leaving the sophomore center noticeably devastated after.

“We had a chance there late and just couldn’t get it to fall,” Phillips said. “Our guys fought back from an early deficit and competed the whole night. It’s a tough one, but this group has done a lot to be proud of this season.”

Indeed the Wolverines did put forth a quality season despite losing three of their top players to the transfer portal entering play this past November. Players like Holcombe and Leonhardt led the way while receiving key contributions from such players as Davis, Brayden Housely and Tyler Hendricks, who sat out the WAC tournament due to injury.

The Wolverines finished with a 25-8 overall record and 14-4 mark in WAC Conference play, which earned them the No. 1 seed heading into the tournament. Perhaps most impressive was UVU’s spotless 15-0 record in games played at the UCCU Center.