UVU men’s hoops can’t rally, falls to Grand Canyon in WAC Championship
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- Utah Valley players look on from the bench as they trail Grand Canyon in the final moments of the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Western Athletic Conference tournament Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chase Stevens)
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- Grand Canyon guard Ray Harrison (0) dunks the ball under pressure from Utah Valley forward Carter Welling (22) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Western Athletic Conference tournament Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chase Stevens)
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- Utah Valley guard Tanner Toolson (5) lays up the ball against Grand Canyon forward Duke Brennan (24) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Western Athletic Conference tournament Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chase Stevens)
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- UVU fans cheer on their team during the WAC championship game against Grand Canyon at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
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- UVU sophomore Tanner Toolson shoots a shot during the WAC championship game against Grand Canyon at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
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- UVU fans cheer on head coach Todd Phillips as he walks in front of the bench after the WAC championship game against Grand Canyon at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
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- UVU sophomore Tanner Toolson drives to the basket during the WAC championship game against Grand Canyon at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
A common format for pickup basketball — one that is also used in 3-on-3 hoops — is that the winning team is the first to score 21 points.
Oh, how Utah Valley men’s basketball would’ve loved for that to be the setup for Saturday night’s WAC Championship.
The top-seeded Wolverines had a solid start in their late-night title tilt against No. 2-seed Grand Canyon at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, building a 19-10 lead.
With 11:11 left to play in the first half, UVU junior Ethan Potter dropped in a step-back jumper to hit what in other basketball games is the magic number of 21. The Wolverines would’ve happily called the game over at that point with the 21-12 edge and walked away with the crown.
But that’s not how college basketball is played and there were still more than 30 minutes of basketball left to be played — something the Lopes took advantage of.
Grand Canyon went on a 9-0 run to erase the deficit, then finished the half on a 14-7 spurt to take the lead at the break.
UVU didn’t let the Lopes pull away but couldn’t ever move in front either, eventually running out of time as Grand Canyon held on for the 89-82 victory.
That meant the Lopes earned the tournament title and the WAC’s automatic big to the NCAA tournament, giving Grand Canyon it’s fourth trip to the Big Dance in five years and forcing the Wolverines to wait for at least another year.
“It was a heck of a ball game,” UVU head coach Todd Phillips said after the game. “Two big-time teams going at it. I’m really proud of our guys tonight. They fought through adversity and made a lot of big plays. Grand Canyon made a couple more big plays than we did, and we’ve got to be a little bit better from the foul line. That was big. We won the rebound battle, but we just couldn’t get the stops we needed in the second half. We came up short, but I’m really proud of the way we fought.”
The Wolverines got a monster game from sophomore guard Tanner Toolson, who poured in a career-high 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including knocking down a career-best six 3-pointers. He also added eight rebounds and two assists, but said he would much rather have had the win.
“It hurts, obviously,” Toolson said. “It’s something we’ve dreamed of our whole lives. But the best thing for us is turning the page. We’ve got more games ahead of us. Obviously, the goal of winning a championship is over, but we’ve got the NIT coming up soon, and I’m excited to see if what we can do there.”
Even though Grand Canyon led for the entire second half, UVU always kept the pressure on.
Although the Lopes led by double-digits early in the second half, the Wolverines trimmed the lead to just three at 61-58 with 9:03 left to play on a shot by sophomore Carter Welling.
But a couple of UVU turnovers led to some Lope buckets as GCU quickly extended the lead again.
The Wolverines made one final impressive push in the final minutes, getting a couple of 3-pointers from Toolson and another from sophomore Trevan Leonhardt. The flurry of treys cut a 12-point deficit to just five with 15 seconds left, but the Lopes made their last free throws and the clock ran out.
UVU also got a big game from Welling, who tallied 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting, as well as grabbing six rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists.
After the game, he chose to look at the many positive things UVU accomplished in 2024-25.
“We’re still regular season champions,” said Welling. “We did lose tonight in the tournament, but we did something that no other Utah Valley team has ever done. I think what this group can do is special, and I think what the last UVU team (2023) did in the NIT is also very special. We’re a team to be feared, and moving forward, we’ll focus on the next game, whoever it is, and play our best basketball.”
Leonhardt also reached double figures with 10 points, along with six assists, two rebounds, and a steal. Dominick Nelson scored nine points, while Potter came off the bench to add six.
UVU shot 46.6% (27-of-58) from the field, including 47.4% (9-of-19) from three. The Wolverines were 67.9% (19-of-28) from the charity stripe. Grand Canyon shot 51.9% (28-of-54) from the floor and 35.3% (6-of-17) from beyond the arc. The Lopes shot 81.8% (27-of-33) from the free throw line.
UVU outrebounded GCU 32-31 but lost the battle in the paint, 42-30. GCU’s bench outscored UVU’s 24-15.
Toolson and Welling were each named to the WAC All-Tournament Team.
The Grand Canyon victory snapped Utah Valley’s 10-game win streak as the Wolverines fell to 25-8 overall.
UVU will continue its season in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) as one of the tournament’s automatic bids.
The Wolverines’ first-round opponent, date, and time will be announced following the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday afternoon. This will mark UVU’s third appearance in the NIT and its second in the past three seasons.
