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Holcombe scores game-winner in OT as UVU edges UT Arlington

By UVU Sports Information - | Jan 17, 2025

Courtesy UVU Athletics

Utah Valley's Tanner Toolson (5) drives past UT Arlington's Brody Robinson in a Western Athletic Conference men's basketball game in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Lone Star state native Kylin Green went the full length of the floor in five seconds and dished to Jackson Holcombe, who scored in the final second of overtime to lift Utah Valley to a thrilling 85-83 road victory over UT Arlington on Thursday night at College Park Center.

The win extends UVU’s streak to seven games and keeps the Wolverines perfect in WAC play at 4-0. UVU improves to 12-6 overall.

“Unbelievable, gutty effort from our guys,” said UVU head coach Todd Phillips. “It was a dog fight. We told them it was gonna be a dog fight all night long. Doing the little things down the stretch is what gets you wins.”

Dominick Nelson led the way with a career-high 25 points, while Tanner Toolson added a season-high 22 points to fuel the Wolverines. Nelson scored his 25 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and an impressive 13-of-16 at the free throw line. He also contributed five assists, four rebounds, and a block.

“Dom hit nine in a row at one point,” Phillips said. “I’m just really proud of our guys.”

Toolson tallied his 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including a 3-of-6 clip from beyond the arc. He also went 5-of-9 at the charity stripe and added four rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

“It was Tanner Toolson’s night,” Phillips added. “He led the way and hit some big shots.”

Holcombe came off the bench to score eight points, including the game-winner, while grabbing six rebounds. Hayden Welling and Carter Welling each chipped in eight points, with Carter adding five rebounds.

Utah Valley shot 44.8% (30-of-67) from the field and 23.5% (4-of-17) from three-point range, while UT Arlington shot 46.2% (30-of-65) from the floor and 34.6% (9-of-26) from deep. The Wolverines narrowly edged the Mavericks on the boards, 39-38, and outscored them in the paint, 44-38.

UVU led at halftime 30-26 but UT Arlington came out firing in the second half, opening  on a 14-4 run to take a 40-34 lead with 15:35 remaining. Toolson knocked down a three-pointer to ignite a 15-3 UVU surge, giving the Wolverines a 49-43 advantage with 10:19 to play. UVU maintained a six-point lead at 54-48, but the Mavericks countered with a 15-4 run to go ahead 63-58 with 4:26 left. UVU fought back with a 10-5 stretch to tie the game at 68-68 with 1:22 to go. Trailing 72-70 with 17 seconds left, Nelson calmly sank two free throws to force overtime after UTA failed to get a shot off as time expired.

UTA tied the game at 83-83 with five seconds remaining in overtime, setting the stage for Green and Holcombe’s heroics. Green raced down the floor and found Holcombe, who sank the game-winning layup with 0.3 seconds on the clock. UTA’s last-second shot missed, securing UVU’s dramatic victory.

Utah Valley will return home to host in-state rival Utah Tech on Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. MT, with the game airing live on ESPN+ and the Wolverines Sports Network/ESPN 960 AM/103.9 FM in Utah County and 98.3 FM/101.5 HD2 in Salt Lake County.