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Team effort gets UVU men’s basketball past UTRGV

By Jared Lloyd - | Jan 20, 2022
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UVU sophomore Tim Fuller drives to the basket during the WAC game against UTRGV at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)
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UVU sophomore Fardaws Aimaq goes up for a shot during the WAC game against UTRGV at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)
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UVU sophomore Le'Tre Darthard shoots a 3-pointer during the WAC game against UTRGV at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)
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UVU sophomore Jaden McClanahan dribbles into the land during the WAC game against UTRGV at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)
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UVU junior Asa McCord shoots a 3-pointer during the WAC game against UTRGV at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)
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UVU head coach Mark Madsen watches his team during the WAC game against UTRGV at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)
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UVU junior Connor Harding drives to the basket during the WAC game against UTRGV at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)
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UVU players watch the intro video before the WAC game against UTRGV at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

UVU head coach Mark Madsen and sophomore Fardaws Aimaq admitted after Thursday’s WAC men’s basketball game against UT Rio Grande Valley at the UCCU Center in Orem that they’re not big poker players.

They may not have realized that late in the game the scoring totals showed the Wolverines had a “straight” and finished the game with “three of a kind.”

It was an indication of the team effort that UVU used to hold off a scrappy effort from the Vaqueros to get the 66-56 win.

“I was proud of a lot of guys on our team,” Madsen said. “I thought Jaden McClanahan was big for us. He works on his craft every day and today he made some big 3-pointers for us, helped control tempo and did a nice job on defense. Fardaws Aimaq had six assists. Tim Fuller was finding seams and finishing at the rim. We had a lot of good individual performances.”

The five Wolverines players on the floor with just over two minutes left in the game had tallied these point totals:

  • Sophomore Fardaws Aimaq: 13
  • Junior Connor Harding: 12
  • Sophomore Tim Fuller: 11
  • Sophomore Le’Tre Darthard: 10
  • Sophomore Jaden McClanahan: 9

The “straight” turned into “three of a kind” as Fuller and Darthard also joined Aimaq (who also had 14 rebounds) in finishing with 13 points apiece.

“That makes it a lot easier because it opens things up,” Aimaq said. “Tonight they were packing the paint. I would take one or two dribbles and there were bodies everywhere. I was trying to make the right play and find the right guy. Guys did a great job knocking down shots.”

He said that while the game wasn’t pretty, the team was happy to get the job done.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game with the way UTRGV plays,” Aimaq said. “They are like seventh in the country in possessions per game, so they get up shots and run. We had to adjust to that tonight. At the end of the night, it was gritty and ugly but we came out with a win and that’s all we can ask for.”

Madsen said he felt like the UVU athletes took it on themselves to bounce back after dropping a couple of tough road games last week.

“I think they talked about moving the ball even more,” Madsen said. “We were probably stagnant at times at Seattle and at Cal-Baptist, but the ball we moving out there. Guys shots it well and there was a lot of unselfishness between the players.”

Even with the balance, the Wolverines weren’t able to pull away from UTRGV. A couple of Vaquero scores cut UVU’s 11-point lead to just six with 1:29 left to play.

Unlike in other conference games where opponents have made the plays to win, this time it was the Wolverines who finished things off with a layup by Darthard and a dunk from Fuller.

“There is a lot of teaching that goes into that,” Madsen said. “Early in the season with the overtime games, our guys were doing a phenomenal job in those one and two-possession games. We let some things slip on the road trip but we made some adjustments. It got to six points, then we took a breath and went back to what we know we can do. We were able to execute.”

Aimaq believes the key is not having lapses down the stretch.

“Continuing to stay locked in is the biggest thing,” Aimaq said. “We can’t be OK with being up 10 or 12 points. We have to have that killer instinct. We need to push the lead from 12 to 15, then 15 to 20, then 20 to 25. Our guys have shown we are capable of that, so it is about focusing and making it happen.”

The Vaqueros were paced by 21 points from guard Xavier Johnson, including 5-of-8 from the 3-point line.

UVU (12-6, 3-3) now prepares to host Lamar as the Wolverines look to get back-to-back wins. That game is scheduled to be played at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday at 2 p.m.

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