Daniels hits 3 late 3s, Cal Baptist beats Utah Valley for WAC title, 1st NCAA Tournament berth

PARADISE, Nev. (AP) — Dominique Daniels Jr. hit three 3-pointers in the final two minutes and finished with 23 points on Saturday night to help No. 2 seed Cal Baptist beat top-seeded Utah Valley 63-61 to win the final Western Athletic Conference Tournament and clinch the first NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

Cal Baptist (25-8), which began the transition from Division II in 2018 and became eligible for the postseason in the 2022-23 season, extended its program record (D-I era) for single-season wins. The Lancers have won six games in a row.

Utah Valley (25-8), which has won back-to-back conference regular-season titles and four of the last six, had its seven-game win streak snapped.

Daniels, who finished 7-of-25 shooting, hit back-to-back 3s that tied it 60-all with 1:16 to play. Jackson Holcombe grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws with 39 seconds left, but Daniel hit a pull-up 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down that gave Cal Baptist a two-point lead with 14.6 seconds remaining.

Isaac Davis missed a potential tying alley-oop dunk with three seconds left.

Holcombe led the Wolverines with 18 points and Davis scored 12. Trevan Leonhardt had 10 rebounds and eight assists to go with six points while consistently harassing Daniels defensively.

Bradey Henige had 11 points for the Lancers and Jonathan Griman had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting before he fouled out with about 5 1/2 minutes left.

Utah Valley won the season series, 2-1, with both wins coming on its home floor. Daniels had a program-record 47 points in Cal Baptist's 78-71 home win over the Wolverines on Jan. 24.

Both programs are joining the Big West Conference beginning next season, when the WAC will rebrand as the United Athletic Conference.

Cal Baptist: Awaits its seeding and first-round opponent for the NCAA Tournament.

Utah Valley: Clinched an automatic invite to the NIT.

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