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UVU senior guard Jaden McClanahan goes up for a layup during the WAC game against Cal Baptist at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024.

Courtesy UVU Athletics

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UVU freshman forward Osiris Grady dives on a loose ball during the WAC game against Cal Baptist at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024.

Courtesy UVU Athletics

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UVU senior forward Caleb Stone-Carrawell shoots a shot during the WAC game against Cal Baptist at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024.

Courtesy UVU Athletics

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When you’ve been on a losing streak, sometimes everything seems hard.

That’s how things have been going lately for the UVU men’s basketball team which had lost four straight coming into Thursday’s WAC contest against Cal Baptist at the UCCU Center in Orem.

The Wolverines appeared to be poised to end the slide as they built an 11-point lead in the first half and held the Lancers to just 23 points.

But Cal Baptist refused to let UVU just pull away and came roaring back early in the second half, eventually taking the lead and keeping it close.

Could the Wolverines find a way to get their first win since beating Weber State on Dec. 5?

Thanks to big-time performances from junior Drake Allen and senior Trevin Dorius as well as some key free throw shooting, UVU got the job done. The Wolverines surged in front late and held on for the 65-58 victory over the Lancers.

“In the second half, we had a little lull where we didn’t come out with the intensity we needed,” Allen said on the ESPN+ broadcast after the game. “We made it interesting. But one of the things we are working on is putting teams away and we’ll make sure we get that done next time.”

With the home team in front but the Lancers just close enough to be dangerous in the final minute, UVU got a pair of highlight-reel plays from Dorius and Allen to put an exclamation mark on the win.

First, when Cal Baptist junior forward spun past his defender and went up for a dunk — only to have Dorius come in from the weak side and stuff it for his only block of the game (although he stuffed the stat sheet in other ways with 12 points, 15 rebounds and five assists).

On the ensuing Wolverine possession, freshman guard Tanner Toolson got open from beyond the arc with the shot clock winding down.

His shot, however, was just slightly off target and bounced off the rim — right into the hands of Allen, who came soaring in from the far side to slam the ball home and cap off his 17-point performance.

“That was the luck of the draw,” Allen said on the ESPN+ broadcast. “Sometimes you’re in the right spot at the right time.”

Things started out perfectly for the home team as the Wolverines did an excellent job at both ends.

Good movement without the ball and some Lancer breakdowns allowed UVU to score the first eight points of the game.

“We jumped on them early, which helped,” Allen said on the ESPN+ broadcast. “We’ve been struggling to jump on teams early. That was one of our standout points, that we needed to be aggressive out of the gate.”

But that was just the first in a series of runs as both teams had ups and downs in the first 20 minutes.

Cal Baptist answered the early push by the Wolverines with a 9-2 run, only to see UVU answer with a 10-3 spurt of its own to regain the momentum. The home team scored five of the last six points to go into the locker room with a 33-23 lead.

The Lancers clearly felt they could play a lot better and showed it coming out of halftime. Cal Baptist scored the first seven points on its way to a 15-4 run that gave the visitors their first lead at 38-37.

Even though Lancer junior guard Dominique Daniels Jr. — who led all scorers with 20 points — drilled a 3-pointer to put Cal Baptist up 43-40, the Wolverines found ways to respond.

UVU got buckets from junior forward Nate Tshimanga and senior Caleb Stone-Carrawell to retake the lead.

The Wolverines then struggled to score from the field for much of the rest of the game but made up for it by being aggressive and getting fouled. UVU made 18-of-22 free throws in the second half to secure the win.

UVU improves to 2-1 in WAC play and built a little momentum heading into Saturday’s in-state rivalry showdown against Southern Utah.

“We expect to win every time every time we play,” Allen said on the ESPN+ broadcast. “The coaches do a good job of preparing us. I feel like we are a top contender in this league. I feel like a lot of people have doubted us. We are going to take that doubt and turn it into motivation. We’ll show it with what we do on the court.”

The Wolverines will face the Thunderbirds at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

UVU women’s basketball falls at Cal Baptist

Utah Valley University returned to action and ran into a scorching hot California Baptist team, falling 80-61 on Thursday night at the CBU Events Center in WAC play.

The Wolverines (5-7, 0-3) got a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double from Halle Nelson and were led in scoring by Eleyana Tafisi’s 13 points. Tessa Chaney scored a season-high 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting.

The Lancers (11-1, 3-0) shot 55.6% overall after cooling considerably in the fourth quarter. During one stretch, CBU made nine consecutive attempts from three spanning the end of the first until the midway point of the third quarter. CBU was 10-for-13 at that point from beyond the arc and 23-for-32 overall.

The Wolverines will now head to Cedar City where they’ll take on in-state rival Southern Utah on Saturday at 5 p.m. MT.

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