Utah Valley’s comeback came up just short as the Wolverines dropped a 75-73 decision on the road at California Baptist on Saturday night at the CBU Events Center in Riverside, Calif. Following a steal by Jaden McClanahan, UVU missed the game-tying shot at the buzzer.

UVU falls to 11-6 on the season, including 2-3 in WAC play. The Lancers improve to 11-5 on the year and 1-2 in the conference play.

“Both teams came out with great physicality and we were right there, but we made some mistakes and we’ll get much better,” said Utah Valley head men’s basketball coach Mark Madsen. “We’re getting everyone’s best shot but we need to elevate our play. I’m proud of our guys but we didn’t have enough in the tank to get it done.”

Le’Tre Darthard got the scoring with a three as the Wolverines got out to an early 9-6 lead with 16:11 to go in the first half. The Lancers countered with a 9-0 to retake the lead, 15-9, but Fardaws Aimaq hit a pair of shots as UVU cut the deficit to 20-18 with 8:59 to go in the opening half. CBU used a 9-3 run to extend its lead to 29-21 but Connor Harding scored eight straight points and Trey Farrer helped lead Utah Valley on a 12-2 surged to regain the lead, 33-31, with 3:26 to go in the half. Following four free throws by California Baptist, Blaze Nield made a layup to tie the game up at 35-35 going into the break.

CBU ripped off a 12-3 run to open the second, pushing its lead to 47-38 with 15:47 to go. Following a 6-0 UVU run, California Baptist responded with a 14-4 surge to give the Lancers the biggest lead of the game, 61-48, with 7:13 remaining in the game. Aimaq sparked the comeback with six-straight points as Utah Valley rattled off a 17-5 run to cut the lead down to 66-65 with 2:32 left. After CBU hit a pair of free throws, Aimaq converted an and-one layup to tie the game up at 68-68 with 2:02 to go in the game. California Baptist hit two more free throws but Farrer made a put back to tie the game back up with just over a minute to go.

The Lancers hit a turnaround jumper to go up 72-;70 and UVU missed a turnaround shot of its own with 20 seconds remaining. CBU hit two free throws to extend the lead to 74-70 but Aimaq hit a pair of free throws to bring the Wolverines within two points, 74-72, with seven second left. The Lancers made one of two free throws before sending Nield to charity stripe with CBU leading, 75-72. Nield made the first before attempting to miss the second. McClanahan stole the inbounds pass but the last-second floater fell short at the buzzer as California Baptist held on for the 75-73 win.

Aimaq notched his nation-leading 15th double-double, tallying 27 points, on 11 of 21 shooting and 5 of 6 from the line, to go along with 18 rebounds and a team-high four assists. Harding chipped in 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists while Darthard added 12 points. Farrer finished with six points and a season-high five rebounds.

The Wolverines shot 46 percent from the field, including 5-15 from deep, and 16-24 from the charity stripe. UVU limited CBU to just 45 percent from the floor but California Baptist hit 8-15 shots from downtown and 23-34 from the line. Utah Valley won the rebounding battle, 36-33, leading to a 13-8 advantage in second-chance points and a 32-20 advantage in points in the paint.

The Wolverines return home as UVU hosts UT Rio Grande Valley in the UCCU Center on Thursday, Jan. 20, at 6 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and ESPN 960 AM. Utah Valley then welcomes WAC-newcomer Lamar on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 2 p.m. MT.

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