The Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team lost the WAC Championship game in heartbreaking fashion with a missed slam dunk on an alley oop in the final seconds, handing a 63-61 victory and an automatic NCAA Tournament birth to the California Baptist Lancers.
With 17 seconds left in regulation, Cal Baptist senior guard Dominique Daniels Jr. hit a three-pointer to give the Lancers a 63-61 lead. Out of a timeout with 10 seconds left, Utah Valley junior guard Trevan Leonhardt set up the offense. He dribbled down the side of the key to draw multiple defenders, then threw up an alley oop for sophomore forward Isaac Davis, who was wide open.
However, after catching the pass on the way up, Davis was "rejected" by the rim on his slam dunk attempt. Cal Baptist grabbed the rebound and ran out the clock to escape with the win and their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid.
Utah Valley misses a wide-open dunk to lose the WAC championship and a chance at their first-ever tourney berth 🤯😳pic.twitter.com/id9erM3RfX
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 15, 2026
We have seen some painfully embarrassing rim rejections before, but never at such a deciding moment of the game.
This was technically the final men's basketball tournament for the Western Athletic Conference. As of July, the coference is rebranding as the United Athletic Conference (UAC), although the league's history will live on under the new name. As both Utah Valley and Cal Baptist are moving on to the Big Sky Conference, this game served as the "end of an era" for both schools.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports).
