Box Score

HOUSTON – Houston Baptist cut Utah Valley's 17-point second half lead to four in the final two minutes, but the Wolverines held on for a 73-66 victory in Great West Conference basketball Saturday night at Sharp Gym.

Senior guard Andrew Gonzalez, the eighth-ranked scorer in the nation and the league's leading scorer, led four Huskies in double figures with 21 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Shawn Echols added 13 points and five steals, senior guard Michael Moss had 11 points and led the team with nine rebounds, while junior forward Terry Bembry had 10 points for HBU (3-19, 2-5 GWC).

Isiah Williams hit 8-of-15 from the field, including 6-of-9 from behind the arc for a game-high 24 points for Utah Valley (14-9, 6-1). Geddes Robinson had 11 points and 14 rebounds, most of which came in the first half. Jordan Swarbrick added 19 points.

Williams hit a layup and a pair of threes in the early going to lead Utah Valley to a 16-10 advantage, but sophomore guard Ben Daniels hit back-to-back threes to tie the game, 18-18, with just over nine minutes left in the half. The Wolverines answered back with an 11-1 run, but Echols made a 3-point play and Gonzalez drove for a layup to cut the deficit to five. Williams' hit his fourth three of the half at the buzzer to give Utah Valley a 40-27 lead.

The Wolverines only shot 40.6 percent from the field in the first half and outrebounded the Huskies, 23-15. HBU shot 40.7 percent from the floor in the half. Williams led all scorers with 14 points, while Geddes Robinson had a double-double by the break with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Gonzalez led the Huskies with nine points.

Utah Valley continued to build on its lead early in the second half, going up 47-30, but HBU went on a 14-4 run, capped by Daniels' tip-in – the Huskies' third offensive rebound of the possession – with 12:38 to go. After the Wolverines went back up by 12, Echols got the Huskies back to within seven on a 3-point play with 7:09 to go and a 3-pointer at the 6:14 mark. Gonzalez's up-and-under layup with 1:39 to go cut the Wolverines' lead to 67-61 and Echols' steal and feed to Gonzalez for another layup made it a four-point game with just over a minute remaining, but Utah Valley took care of the game from the line down the stretch.

For the game, HBU shot 48.2 percent from the field, but only 26.7 percent (4-for-15) from long range. Utah Valley shot 44.2 percent from the field and 45.0 percent (9-of-20) from behind the arc. The Wolverines outrebounded the Huskies, 33-32, and outscored the Huskies on second chances, 11-4. HBU outscored Utah Valley in the paint, 34-22.