2024-25 WAC Men's Basketball Release - Week 13

UTAH VALLEY STREAK REACHES 10 STRAIGHT
Utah Valley kept its momentum rolling with a successful two-game road trip, coming back from a double digit deficit to best California Baptist 74-69 on Jan. 23 on ESPNU before winning another tough road tilt 70-66 at Seattle U on Jan. 25. Utah Valley trailed CBU 37-25 at halftime but retook the lead for good at 52-50 with 11:10 remaining in the game, keyed by 18 points in the second half from Dominick Nelson. The Wolverines pulled away from Seattle U after the teams were tied at 29-all following the first 20 minutes with a big second half from Carter Welling, who poured in 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds over 16 minutes. Utah Valley owned the seventh longest winning streak in NCAA Division I as of Jan. 28.

NELSON RECOGNIZED BY WAC FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE WEEK
Utah Valley guard Dominick Nelson captured both WAC weekly awards on Jan. 27 after leading the Wolverines to a road conference sweep and extending the active winning streak over all games for the Wolverines to 10 consecutive triumphs. Nelson led all league players with 20.5 points per game and chipped in 7.5 rebounds per contest last week, erupting for a game-high 25 points in a comeback win at California Baptist on Jan. 23. Nelson added 16 points and eight rebounds at Seattle U on Jan. 25.

GCU INTO SECOND PLACE THANKS TO FOUR WINS IN A ROW
Grand Canyon continued its pursuit of Utah Valley with a road sweep of its own last weekend, downing Southern Utah 74-59 on Jan. 23 before dropping Utah Tech 79-66 on Jan. 25 to set up a huge rematch with Utah Valley on Feb. 1 in Phoenix. JaKobe Coles powered GCU with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the Southern Utah game, and Duke Brennan added a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double. Coles followed up with 18 points and eight boards against Utah Tech, while Brennan had another double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

UTA PICKS UP FIRST CONFERENCE WINS TO JOIN THE FRAY
UT Arlington earned its first two conference wins of the season by defeating Seattle U at home 65-56 on Jan. 23 and Abilene Christian 79-76 in overtime on the road on Jan. 25. Lance Ware filled up the stat sheet in both wins for the Mavericks, registering 12 points and 10 rebounds with three blocks against Seattle U before chipping in 18 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and two steals in the overtime thriller at ACU.

NATIONAL RANKINGS IN THE NCAA
Tarleton State was second in turnovers forced per game in NCAA Division I as of Jan. 28, forcing 17.5 turnovers per game. Grand Canyon ranked third in free throws made per game (19.8), Utah Valley was fifth in blocks per game (6.0) and Abilene Christian slotted eighth in steals per game (10.0).