Isaac Hawkins’ late block secures Utah Valley win, 2nd consecutive WAC final appearance

LAS VEGAS — Despite controlling a 16-point lead, Utah Valley narrowly defeated UT Arlington 67-65 to advance to its second consecutive WAC final appearance Friday.

A late block from Isaac Hawkins on an open 3-point look by UT Arlington after a loose ball secured the win for Utah Valley. He finished with a team-high four blocks in the win.

Junior Trevan Leonhardt contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals in the win. In total, four Wolverines players finished in double figures and had a combined 13 steals and blocks.

Utah Valley will face the winner of Utah Tech and California Baptist on Saturday (10 p.m. MDT, ESPN2).

Braden Housely, who moved into a starting spot after Tyler Hendricks suffered a broken nose three weeks ago, had a quick 5 points to pace the Wolverines to an early lead.

Sherman Weatherspoon, who also found his way to the starting lineup after a 27-point outburst against Utah Tech, had 6 points in the first-half, with all coming from beyond the arc.

Though Utah Valley forced five turnovers in the first half, the Wolverines committed seven of their own, which turned into 9 points for UT Arlington on the offensive end. As such, 22 of UT Arlington’s 29 first-half points came from the bench, with Tyran Mason and Bahsil Laster combining for 19 of the 22 points.

Controlling a two-possession lead to open the second half, Leonhardt caught fire and sparked a personal 10-0 run to build up a game-high 16-point lead for the Wolverines off two 3-pointers in the span.

Shortly after the scoring spurt, UT Arlington went on a 10-0 run of its own in two minutes to trim Utah Valley’s lead to 5 points. With four minutes left to play, Laster converted an and-one to make it a one possession game.

Utah Valley then missed its next two free throws — a total of seven missed free buckets in the second half — to give UT Arlington a chance to tie, of which they managed to do.

With the game locked, Holcombe was fouled with 18 seconds left and sank both free throws to give the Wolverines a narrow lead.

But the Wolverines played stout defense after Hawkins blocked a shot in the paint, and a loose ball fell into the hands of Raysean Seamster who had an open look at a 3-pointer that was short.