UVU men’s hoops has season come to an end at San Francisco in NIT first round
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- UVU sophomore Osiris Grady dunks the ball during the NIT first-round game against San Francisco at War Memorial at The Sobrato Center in San Francisco on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
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- UVU sophomore Tanner Toolson battles for the ball during the NIT first round game against San Francisco at War Memorial at The Sobrato Center in San Francisco on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
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- UVU junior Osiris Grady shoots a shot during the NIT first round game against San Francisco at War Memorial at The Sobrato Center in San Francisco on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
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- UVU sophomores Tanner Toolson and Travan Leonhardt take the floor during the NIT first round game against San Francisco at War Memorial at The Sobrato Center in San Francisco on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
It looked like it might be the biggest moment of the game.
The Utah Valley men’s basketball team had found itself behind for much of Wednesday’s NIT first-round game against No. 1-seed San Francisco at War Memorial at The Sobrato Center in San Francisco, trailing by as many 14 points early in the second half.
But the Wolverines battled back, getting a jumper from junior Dominick Nelson, an offensive rebound and layup from sophomore Tanner Toolson, a layup from sophomore Carter Welling and a 3-pointer from sophomore Hayden Welling to cut a 12-point deficit to 60-57.
After UVU got a defensive stop, the Wolverines continued their run with a driving layup by Nelson on a fast break. That cut the Don lead to a single point and even that didn’t last long thanks to Wolverine sophomore guard Trevan Leonhardt.
San Francisco casually inbounded the ball after Nelson’s basket and Leonhardt was waiting, sneaking up in front of the Don player to steal the ball and get a quick layup to put UVU in front.
Suddenly the visiting Wolverines had all the momentum and looked like they had the chance to flip the script with just under six minutes left to play.
But, unfortunately for UVU, it didn’t last.
San Francisco scored nine of the next 10 points to regain the lead and refused to let the Wolverines rally, ending UVU’s season with a 79-70 win.
The Wolverines got big performances from both Carter Welling and Toolson to set the pace for UVU.
Carter Welling poured in 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a 3-of-4 effort from beyond the arc. He added 11 rebounds to complete the double-double. Toolson scored his 14 points on a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, adding three field goals.
Leonhardt finished with six points, five assists, four steals, and three rebounds. Leonhardt’s five assists brought his season total to 178, making him UVU’s all-time single-season assists leader, surpassing Trey Woodbury’s record of 174 set during the 2022-23 season.
Hayden Welling added six points off the bench with three rebounds and a block, while Ethan Potter and Dominick Nelson chipped in five points each.
The game started as a back-and-forth battle highlighted by a series of runs for each team.
San Francisco opened with a 10-3 spurt over the first five minutes, only to see UVU respond with a 14-3 surge, including nine points from Carter Welling and three free throws from Toolson, to take a 17-13 lead with 11:16 left in the half.
USF then used a 13-3 run to lead 35-26 with two minutes remaining. The Wolverines closed the half strong, cutting the deficit to 37-32 at the break.
The Dons appeared in control early in the second half but UVU put the pressure on with its run midway through the period.
Utah Valley shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) from the field and just 19 percent (4-of-21) from three-point range. San Francisco finished shooting 44.6 percent (29-of-65) overall, including 36.4 percent (12-of-33) from deep.
The Dons held a slight 41-40 rebounding edge, but Utah Valley dominated the paint, outscoring USF 40-24.
Utah Valley concludes its season with a 25-9 record, including an impressive 15-1 mark in WAC play that helped the Wolverines secure the outright WAC regular season championship. UVU won 20 of its last 23 games and made its third appearance in the NIT.
