Weber State basketball: Despite Suarez career night, Wildcat men can’t hang at Utah Valley
WSU women tally second blowout of NAIA foe
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- Weber State forward Edwin Suarez Jr. (0) rises to the basket past Utah Valley’s Jackson Holcombe (2) on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Weber State guard Jace Whiting (24) rises to shoot against Utah Valley’s Tyler Hendricks (15) on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Weber State forward Nigel Burris, center, shoots over the defense of Utah Valley’s Jackson Holcombe (2) on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Weber State forward Edwin Suarez Jr. (0) moves the ball against Utah Valley on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Weber State guard Tijan Saine Jr., front, drives against Utah Valley on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Weber State guard ArDarius Grayson (12) shoots over Utah Valley’s Noah Taitz (7) on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Weber State forward Nigel Burris (5) dunks the basketball as Utah Valley’s Trevan Leonhardt (10) looks on in a game Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
Weber State junior forward Edwin Suarez Jr. had a career night by halftime but WSU men’s basketball couldn’t get enough stops or find other consistent scoring to combat Utah Valley in a 90-74 road loss Wednesday night in Orem.
Suarez scored 19 in the first half, eclipsing his WSU high of 16, and went on to total 26 points and 10 rebounds on 11-of-15 shooting. That’s his college career high as well, besting a 25-point outing at Arizona Western College prior to transferring to Weber.
A back-and-forth game gave way to a few Utah Valley (9-3) runs to decide it. The first came after the Wolverines led 22-20 at the under-8 timeout of the first half but pushed it to 40-32 at halftime. UVU then opened the second half on a 23-13 run in the first 8 minutes, bookended by 3-pointers from Noah Taitz, to go up 18.
A Jace Whiting 3 got Weber State’s margin back to 10 with 7:29 to go but a 12-4 run from the home team put the game away heading into the final minutes.
Tyler Hendricks, younger brother of Utah Jazz player Taylor Hendricks, led UVU with 22 points. Jackson Holcombe scored 18 points and Isaac Hawkins added 15 on 7-of-7 shooting. The Wolverines shot a blistering 58.6% from the floor, including posting an opponents’ first good shooting night from 3 against WSU with a 9-of-22 mark.
Tijan Saine Jr. added 13 points and five assists for WSU (5-6) and Nigel Burris scored 12 points off the bench.
UVU now leads the all-time series 9-8 and is 7-1 in games played in Orem.
Weber State next hosts Utah Tech on Saturday.
WEBER STATE 84, LA SIERRA 47
The WSU women routed their second consecutive NAIA opponent in a home blowout of visiting La Sierra (Riverside, California) on Wednesday night.
Senior guard Lanae Billy rained in five first-half 3-pointers on the way to 19 points for the game and the Wildcats led 43-22 at the half. Hannah Robbins led WSU (4-7) with a career-high 21 points, adding four rebounds and four assists.
Antoniette Emma-Nnopu added 11 points and nine rebounds, and redshirt freshman Fui Niumeitolu totaled 10 points and eight assists for WSU.
WSU next heads to Los Angeles, where it will take on hosts Loyola Marymount and also Omaha for a pair of games Saturday and Sunday.
