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Orem • Forget the missed jumper at the end of regulation.
Forget those three straight missed free throws early in overtime.
Shane Rector had Utah Valley right where he wanted.
The Wolverines owned a one-point lead with 1.6 seconds remaining Saturday, when Rector was fouled.
The senior point guard strolled to the line, buried two free throws and gave the Aggies a thrilling 80-79 victory in front of 6,792 fans at the UCCU Center.
"I had some struggles from the free-throw line before that," Rector said. "But, if you ask Aggie fans, they know I don't miss those last-second ones. … I just went up there cool, calm and collected and knocked them down."
When he did, Utah Valley's valiant effort fell just short. The Wolverines never trailed until the final 1:03 of regulation.
"I'm proud of our guys," coach Mark Pope said. "They competed really hard … but Utah State is a good team. Congratulations to them."
Said Utah State coach Tim Duryea: "That was a great college basketball game. I thought we did a great job of hanging in there."
Freshman guard Koby McEwen led the Aggies with 21 points. Rector finished with 18.
Connor Toolson led Utah Valley with 24 points, including a layup with 7.8 seconds remaining that gave the Wolverines a 79-78 lead.
After a timeout, Utah State inbounded to Rector. He dribbled behind a screen by Ngor Barnaba, crossed half-court with four seconds left and made a change-of-pace move on Utah Valley point guard Brandon Randolph.
Rector and Randolph collided. Randolph was called for a foul.
"Coach told me to get the ball … and make something happen," Rector said. "That's what I did. I wanted the ball in my hands and I made something happen."
Asked about Rector's performance, Duryea said, "Shane was tremendous. We could have made it a little easier on ourselves by making a few more free throws, but there wasn't a guy on our bench who doubted that Shane was going to make the last two. That's what he does."
It was Rector's second chance to win the game.
After the Aggies rallied from an 11-point deficit in the first half, they took their first lead with 63 seconds left when Rector drove past Utah Valley center Isaac Neilson and threw down a monster dunk to make it 71-70.
Neilson made one free throw with 52.4 seconds left but, after a turnover, Utah State made a defensive stop to get the final possession.
Again, the Aggies went to Rector.
He drove off a screen, bobbled the ball for a split-second and regained it in time to launch a 15-footer.
It rimmed out.
"I had a good look," he said. "I got fouled, but they didn't call it and we had to go to OT."
Said Duryea: "We wanted them to switch on the screen, which they did, and I wanted Shane to drive their big. I actually thought he got slapped on the arm, but you're never going to get that call right there."
Twitter: @sluhm