UAB tops Utah Valley, sets up Conference USA showdown in NIT
Trey Woodbury gets the and-1 for Utah Valley
Trey Woodbury fights through traffic and gets the and-1 to fall.
LAS VEGAS -- — Ty Brewer had a career-high 30 points with 12 rebounds and five steals, Eric Gaines scored seven of his 13 points in overtime and UAB beat Utah Valley 88-86 on Tuesday night to set up an all-Conference USA final in the NIT.
UAB (29-9) will face North Texas for the fourth time this season on Thursday for the NIT championship. UAB lost to North Texas twice in the regular season before winning 76-69 on March 10 to advance to its second straight conference tournament championship game.
Gaines scored UAB’s opening five points of overtime and Trey Jemison added a putback for an 81-76 lead. Gaines also made a contested shot in the lane to make it 83-78.
Brewer sank a jumper from the free-throw line to put UAB ahead 85-83 with 46 seconds left. After a timeout, Utah Valley was forced into a contested 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer that did not hit the rim. Jordan Walker was fouled and made two free throws for a four-point lead.
After Utah Valley made a 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left, Walker sank a free throw before missing the second with 0.8 left. The Wolverines' full-court heave at the buzzer went over the backboard.
Walker finished with 17 points on 5-of-23 shooting for UAB.
UAB scored the opening eight points of the game, with six from Brewer, and led until Utah Valley took its first lead, 62-61, with 8:13 remaining in regulation following a 10-2 run.
Utah Valley guard Trey Woodbury made two free throws with 1:52 left in regulation and he sank a floater in the lane to tie it at 74-all at 33.9. Walker had two chances to break the tie, but he was short on a jumper and his runner bounced off to send it to overtime.
Woodbury and Justin Harmon each scored 16 points for Utah Valley (28-9). Woodbury also had 11 rebounds and six assists. Aziz Bandaogo had 14 points and six rebounds and Tim Fuller, averaging 6.6 points per game, added 14 points and eight boards.
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Game Information
- Referees:
- Michael Greenstein
- William Covington
- Bart Lenox
2023-24 Western Athletic Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Grand Canyon | 17-3 | - | 30-5 |
Tarleton State | 16-4 | 1 | 25-10 |
UT Arlington | 13-7 | 4 | 20-14 |
Seattle U | 11-9 | 6 | 23-14 |
Utah Valley | 11-9 | 6 | 16-16 |
Stephen F. Austin | 10-10 | 7 | 18-15 |
Abilene Christian | 10-10 | 7 | 16-18 |
California Baptist | 8-12 | 9 | 16-17 |
Utah Tech | 7-13 | 10 | 11-20 |
Southern Utah | 5-15 | 12 | 10-21 |
UT Rio Grande Valley | 2-18 | 15 | 6-25 |
2023-24 American Athletic Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
South Florida | 16-2 | - | 25-8 |
Florida Atlantic | 14-4 | 2 | 25-9 |
Charlotte | 13-5 | 3 | 19-12 |
UAB | 12-6 | 4 | 23-12 |
Memphis | 11-7 | 5 | 22-10 |
SMU | 11-7 | 5 | 20-13 |
North Texas | 10-8 | 6 | 19-15 |
Tulsa | 7-11 | 9 | 16-15 |
East Carolina | 7-11 | 9 | 15-18 |
Tulane | 5-13 | 11 | 14-17 |
Temple | 5-13 | 11 | 16-20 |
Wichita State | 5-13 | 11 | 15-19 |
UTSA | 5-13 | 11 | 11-21 |
Rice | 5-13 | 11 | 11-21 |