OREM, Utah – Tarleton men's basketball dropped its fifth straight Western Athletic Conference game as the Texans fell to Utah Valley on the road, 73-60, on Friday at the UCCU Center.

A hot start offensively led to a 9-3 Texan advantage in the first five minutes of the game, the largest lead for the Texans on the night. The Texans forced Utah Valley big man Fardaws Aimaq into early foul trouble and took advantage as Aimaq came in leading the nation in rebounding at 15 boards per game.

The Texans (3-8, 0-5 WAC) were shooting 60 percent early on that helped build a 14-10 lead on a step-back 3-pointer by Shamir Bogues, who had seven points and four rebounds on the night. The two squads slowed down offensively, but continued to battle on the defensive end with a low-scoring first half. Tarleton and Utah Valley were tied at 23-23 with 3:44 remaining in the half, but the Wolverines went on a 10-0 scoring run over the next two minutes to take a commanding double-digit lead into the break.

After a high-percentage shooting start in the first 10 minutes of the game, the Texans struggled in the final stretch of the half, as they shot 38 percent and trailed the Wolverines 38-28 at the break.
Utah Valley came in only averaging five made 3-pointers per game, but doubled that total and shot 59 percent from behind the arc while Tarleton was 3-11 on 3-pointers.

In the second half, the Texans were able to get to within six points with 11:15 remaining but the Wolverines responded with a 17-4 run that put the game out of reach down the stretch. Aimaq had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Wolverines, but it was the Denton, Texas native Le'Tre Darhard who led UVU on the night, scoring a career-high 19 points off the bench.

Jonathan Jackson led the Texans with a career-high 18 points while Tahj Small joined the senior in double digits with 16 points and a team-high six rebounds. Shakur Daniel and Caleb Golden each had six points, Konstantin Dotsenko added four points and Freddy Hicks tallied three off the bench.

Tarleton will look for its first WAC win in a rematch with Utah Valley on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. CST