The loss snaps a three-game win streak for Utah Valley, which falls to 18-7 overall and 8-4 in Western Athletic Conference play. The Wolverines now trail California Baptist (9-3) by one game in the league standings.

Utah Valley struggled out of the gate and never fully recovered from a sluggish first half.

“I thought we played really lethargic to start the game,” head coach Todd Phillips said. “They came out for a prize fight, and we thought we were just showing up for a dog and pony show. And they punched the crap out of us and dug a deep hole for us in the first half.”

Utah Tech jumped out to an 8-2 lead and steadily built its advantage to 23-11 with 10:25 remaining in the half. After a Leonhardt layup cut the deficit to seven, the Trailblazers responded with a 9-0 run to push the lead to 35-19 with 3:43 left before the break. Utah Tech carried a 42-25 advantage into halftime, the 25 points marking Utah Valley’s lowest-scoring half of the season.

Utah Tech extended the lead to 21 early in the second half before Utah Valley began to chip away. Isaac Davis hit a pair of free throws and Holcombe ignited a 9-4 run with a dunk to trim the deficit to 48-34.

The Wolverines continued to claw back. A Leonhardt three-pointer sparked a 10-3 run that cut the margin to 57-49 with 11:52 to play. Utah Valley eventually trimmed the lead to six at 74-68 with 3:48 remaining and again to 79-75 in the final minute.

Leonhardt stole the inbounds pass and the Wolverines converted to make it 79-77 with 17 seconds left, giving UVU one final opportunity.

Utah Valley fouled Chance Trujillo on the ensuing possession, sending him to the line for a 1-and-1 with a chance to extend the lead. Trujillo missed the front end, a rebound that would have given the Wolverines the ball down just two with under 10 seconds to play. Instead, Trujillo tracked down his own miss, forcing UVU to foul again.

Jusaun Holt then made both free throws to push the lead to 81-77.

Leonhardt was fouled on the other end but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with four seconds remaining, and Utah Tech secured the rebound to seal the win.

“Proud of the guys in the second half,” Phillips said. “I thought we had a little life and made a run and played actually pretty well in the second half. But down 17 at half, that’s a big hole.”

Holcombe finished with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. He added seven assists, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Leonhardt scored 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting while dishing out six assists with four rebounds and three steals.

Isaac Hawkins added 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds, while Tyler Hendricks chipped in 12 points.

Utah Valley shot 52.5% (31-of-59) from the field but struggled from three-point range, hitting just 5-of-22 (22.7%). Utah Tech shot 54.4% (31-of-57) overall and 9-of-19 (47.4%) from beyond the arc.

Both teams finished with 31 rebounds, and Utah Valley held a 48-28 edge in points in the paint.

“Coach Judkins did an unbelievable job getting those guys ready to play,” Phillips said. “They’ve been really good at home, just like we’ve been good at home. We’ve got to figure out how to bring some of that magic on the road with us so we can play two halves.”

Chance Trujillo led Utah Tech with 14 points.

Utah Valley returns home to host California Baptist on Thursday, Feb. 19, at the UCCU Center. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.