OREM, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – Le’Tre Darthard scored a career-high 31 points and Tim Fuller  added a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double to lead Utah Valley to an 90-83 win over in-state WAC rival Southern Utah on Saturday night at the UCCU Center. 
 
Utah Valley improves to 20-6 overall and stay atop the WAC standings with an 11-2 record. Southern Utah falls to 17-8 overall and remains in second place in the WAC with a 9-4 record. It marks the second straight season that the Wolverines have reached the 20-win mark. 
 
“That game tonight is indicative of the WAC,” said Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen. “Every team in the league is good and Southern Utah is a phenomenal team. They are extremely well coached and have great players. It was a great game. I was proud of Le’Tre. To go for 31 points and to make 16-of-17 free throws is tremendous. Le’Tre stepped up in a huge way for us tonight.”
 
The two teams played to a 10-10 tie through the first five minutes of the game. Back-to-back buckets by Fuller and Darthard then sparked a 9-2 UVU run over the next three minutes to give the Wolverines a 19-12 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the half. SUU got back within two points, 23-21, with 9:18 on the clock but the Wolverines responded right back with a 12-4 run over the next 4:27 to take a double digit, 35-25, lead with five minutes to go in the half. UVU then outscored the T-Birds 13-8 the rest of the way to take a 48-33 lead into the break.
 
Southern Utah opened the second half on a 15-2 run to cut the Wolverine lead to just two points, 50-48, with 14:55 on the clock. Tajh Small then knocked down a three to start a 7-2 run to take a 57-50 lead. SUU got back within three points, 62-59, with nine minutes to play but the Wolverines responded with five unanswered to jump out to an eight-point 67-59 lead with eight minutes to go. With UVU leading by five points, 70-65, Darthard scored four straight, including a three that gave UVU a 10-point lead, 75-65, with 4:17 on the clock. 
 
Darthard scored his career-high 31 points on a 6-of-14 clip from the field, including a 3-of-7 mark from long range. He also knocked down 16-of-17 shots from the free throw line. Darthard was just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. He also had three steals and one assist.
 
Fuller knocked down 5-of-8 shots from the floor and hit 4-of-7 shots at the free throw line for his 14 points. Fuller also had a career-high 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
 
Trey Woodbury, Aziz Bandaogo and Small each scored 10 points while Tim Ceaser added nine. Bandaogo was just two rebounds shy of a double-double with eight boards to go along with three blocks.
 
Utah Valley shot a 42.4 percent (25-59) clip from the field with a 24 percent (6-25) mark from long range. Southern Utah shot 40 percent (28-70) from the floor with a 33.3 percent (8-24) clip from beyond the arc. UVU outrebounded the T-Birds 46-39.
 
Utah Valley now heads out on a three-game road swing starting with a trip to the Emerald City on Saturday, Feb. 18 to take on Seattle U. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. The Wolverines will then play at Tarleton on Feb. 23 and at Abilene Christian on Feb. 25.