California Baptist punches NCAA Tournament ticket as Utah Valley suffers heartbreak

The Utah Valley Wolverines suffered immense heartbreak in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) men’s basketball championship game against California Baptist on Saturday.

The Wolverines were down 63-61 with about 10 seconds left to play. Utah Valley ran a play as they inbounded the ball from the sideline. Trevan Leonhardt got the pass and Isaac Davis set up the pick and roll. Leonhardt got around the defender and Davis had a wide-open opportunity.

Davis went up for an alley-oop dunk, but just couldn’t finish it. He sat on the ground in disbelief.

The Lancers won the game and earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

California Baptist star Dominique Daniels Jr. scored 23 points and nailed two 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the game to lift his team to the big dance. Bradey Henige had 11 points and Jonathan Griman added 10.

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It will be the first tournament berth in California Baptist men’s basketball history. The school transitioned from Division II to Division I in 2018 and became eligible for the postseason during the 2022-23 season.

Utah Valley saw its seven-game winning streak snap. The school is 25-7 overall this season and could very well be on the outside looking in to the tournament. The Wolverines were the regular season Western Athletic Conference champions.

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Next season, both teams will be joining the Big West Conference. The WAC will rebrand as the United Athletic Conference.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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