OREM, Utah – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s basketball team fell 70-59 to the Utah Valley (UVU) Wolverines Thursday in a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) game at the UCCU Center.

Senior forward Daylen Williams led UTRGV (6-20, 2-13 WAC) with his second double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and snagging 11 rebounds while dishing out five assists. Sophomore forward Saliou Seye had a career night, scoring a career-high 14 points with a career-high four blocks while also recording eight rebounds. Seye was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. Junior guard Elijah Elliott scored 12 points and had five assists. Junior guard Sherman Brashear added eight points with a pair of three-pointers.

Ethan Potter and Trevin Dorius led UVU (13-14, 8-8 WAC), scoring 16 and 15 points, respectively. Dorius also had a game-high 14 rebounds. Jaden McClanahan added 11 points and Tanner Toolson contributed 10.

The Vaqueros found themselves playing from behind early, but they kept things tight behind solid play from Williams and Elliott. Utah Valley created some separation to lead 17-11, then Williams snagged a good defensive rebound and fed a speedy Brashear up the court for a fastbreak layup that sparked UTRGV’s offense.

Brashear knocked down a three-pointer soon after, cutting the deficit to 19-16. Williams continued to rebound and pass well, finding his teammates for good looks. Elliott and Seye made some impressive buckets to keep the score close, then Williams put the Vaqueros on top for the first time, 26-25, with a jumper in the paint. Elliott’s shiftiness led him to the basket to grow the lead to three.

The Wolverines used a four-point swing to get back on top late in the frame, but Williams’ facilitating led to a hook shot from sophomore forward Alex Horiuk and him finding space to drill a jumper at the top of the key to send UTRGV to the locker room with a 32-31 lead at halftime.

Both teams came out fast to start the second half, scoring in spurts right out of the break. Seye swatted a block that led to a three-pointer from Brashear to grow the lead to 35-33, but the Wolverines came back strong to get back on top. Elliott found redshirt freshman guard C.J. Booker cutting undefended to the basket for an easy layup to give the Vaqueros the edge again at 40-38, then Utah Valley went on a 9-0 run and took control.

Utah Valley’s defense held UTRGV to a 31.3 field goal percentage in the second half, causing a lengthy scoring drought late in the contest. Williams continued to lead the Vaqueros effort, scoring seven straight points. Seye added a late three-pointer to his impressive shooting night and UTRGV scored the last five points with help from a steal by Elliott, but the deficit was too large to overcome.

Up next for UTRGV is a Saturday 5 p.m. contest at Seattle U.