Box Score

Game Highlights

CHICAGO – Houston Baptist freshman guard Rob Lewis poured in a career-high 24 points and buried the game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds left for a 76-74 double-overtime victory over Utah Valley in the opening game of the Great West Conference Tournament Thursday night at the Jones Convocation Center. Fourth-seeded HBU advances to the semifinals against top-seeded NJIT Friday at 5 p.m. at Jones Convocation Center.
 
Lewis went 9-for-17 from the field, including a career-best four threes on eight attempts for the Huskies (13-16). Senior forward Art Bernardi went 8-for16 from the field and finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the year. Sophomore guard Marcel Smith fell one point shy of his career high, scoring 18 points and making three 3-pointers. Freshman guard James Harper sparked the Huskies early in the second half with a pair of threes and finished with six points, while freshman forward Dauson Womack added seven points and eight boards.
 
Nick Thompson led Utah Valley (14-18) with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds and had four assists. Jason Johnson had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Wolverines, while Ben Aird had 19 points and seven boards. Holton Hunsaker was held to four points through regulation and the first overtime, but hit a pair of treys in the second extra frame to finish with 10 points.
 
Utah Valley jumped out to a 14-6 lead after a layup by Johnson, but HBU answered by scoring the next seven on a 3-pointer by Lewis, a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Dewayne Bowden and a layup by Bernardi to make it a one-point game with 8:34 remaining. Johnson banked in a three with the shot clock winding down, but Bernardi knocked down one of his own, then tied the game on a baseline jumper, 20-20, with 4:20 to go.
 
Aird made a hook that put the Wolverines back on top, but Bowden sank a jumper to even it back up with 2:33 on the clock. Thompson converted a three-point play, but Smith buried a trey to keep it tied. Bernardi gave the Huskies their first lead of the game with a jumper with just under a minute to go, but the Wolverines forced a turnover and Thompson laid it in at the buzzer as the teams went into halftime tied, 27-27.
 
Utah Valley shot 48 percent from the field, while HBU shot 36 percent. The Wolverines made only 3-of-8 from the free throw line, and the Huskies went to the line only twice, making both. HBU outrebounded Utah Valley, 21-15, including 8-2 on offensive boards.
 
Johnson got a fastbreak layup and Hunsaker hit a long jumper to give Utah Valley a quick four-point lead in the second half, but Harper nailed a three to get HBU back within one. Harper's second three of the half regained a one-point advantage for the Huskies, but Aird got free for a layup on an in-bounds pass to put the Wolverines back on top, then a fastbreak layup by Johnson made the score 36-33. Smith answered with a three-point play to tie the game with 14:41 remanining.
 
After a Thompson hit one-of-two from the line, Womack made three-point play to give HBU a 39-37 lead, but Aird made a short hook to tie it. Bernardi went around Aird for a reverse layup, but Thompson hit a short off-balance jumper to even it again. Lewis drilled a three to put HBU on top 44-41 with 12:27 left. Utah Valley scored the next six on a pair of free throws by Johnson and jumpers by Hunsaker and Aird to lead 47-44, but Lewis drove around Aird to make it a one-point game with 10:18 to go.
 
Smith made a layup to give the Huskies the lead, but Johnson answered with two free throws. Womack made a spin move for a layup and Lewis buried a jumper to give HBU a 52-49 lead at the six-minute mark. Johnson made two more free throws, then a layup to put Utah Valley ahead by one with 4:16 on the clock. Smith drilled a three to put HBU ahead, 55-53, with 2:53 left.
 
Thompson's putback off an Aird miss knotted it back up with 1:45 remaining. Utah Valley forced a miss on HBU's final possession, but the Huskies also held on their end and got a rebound with six seconds to go. Lewis raced down the court but his 13-footer at the buzzer was too hard off the glass.
 
HBU shot 46 percent in the second half, while Utah Valley shot 53 percent. The Wolverines made 8-of-10 free throws, while the Huskies only went to the line three times, making two.
 
Thompson made two free throws to open the scoring in overtime, but Bernardi answered with a putback layup. Thompson drove in for a layup, then Aird made a three-point play as the Wolverines went up, 62-57 with 2:30 to go. Lewis drained a three, the sank a pair of free throws with 1:25 remaining to tie the game. The Huskies made a stop at the one-minute mark, then Smith was fouled driving to the basket and made both free throws to give HBU a 64-62 lead with 46 seconds on the clock. After Bernardi blocked a layup attempt by Johnson, the Wolverines retained possession and Thompson tied it on a layup with 21 seconds to go. The Huskies held for the final shot, but Bernardi's 15-footer missed off the front rim.
 
Johnson and Lewis traded buckets to open the second overtime, but Smith's floater gave HBU a 68-66 lead with 3:49 remaining. Thompson tied it on a long jumper from the top of the key, but Smith pulled up and hit a three. Hunsaker tied it, 71-17, by answering with a three of his own with 2:34 left. Hunsaker gave Utah Valley the lead with a three with 1:07 to go, but Lewis made a short jumper to make the score 74-73 with 47 seconds left.
 
Hunsaker missed a jumper with 15 seconds left and in the scramble for the rebound, Johnson was called for a travel, giving the Huskies possession with eight seconds remaining. Lewis took the inbounds pass from Bernardi at halfcourt, dribbled to the top of the circle and buried a three to give HBU a 76-74 lead with two seconds on the clock. The Huskies then knocked away the pass down court to hold on for the win.