OREM — Ben Devoe led the Wolverines with 21 points and seven rebounds as Utah Valley State beat Montana Tech 79-54 in men's basketball Thursday night.

"Ben settled in during the second half," Utah Valley State coach Dick Hunsaker said. "The team did a better job in getting him the ball. He fought through fatigue and did well. David found his legs in the second half and played well."

After a scoreless first half David Heck scored his 14 points in the first eight minutes of the second half.

Also playing well for Utah Valley was guard Chris Bailey. Bailey played 33 minutes and had eight points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and no turnovers.

"As the game progressed he had a nice statistical line," Hunsaker said.

For the game the Wolverines shot 47 percent from the field and out rebounded Montana Tech 36-28.

The win didn't come easy as Utah Valley trailed early in the game by as many as 12 points (21-9 with 10:53 left in the first half). Utah Valley then went on a 13-0 run to take its first lead at 23-21 with 6:52 left in the half after a basket by Bailey.

"They were a tough team," Hunsaker said. "I knew they were a team with offensive potential. Their ability to make the 3 can put a scare into you."

Montana Tech's last lead of the game was 26-25 with 3:09 left in the first half. Utah Valley out-scored Montana Tech 7-3 over the final minutes to lead 33-28 at halftime.

The Wolverines opened the second half by out-scoring the Orediggers 16-7 five minutes into the second period to lead 49-35. Their biggest lead of the second half and game was 25 points.

Midway through the second half Montana Tech did cut a 57-39 Wolverines lead to 57-47 with 8:56 left in the game. But Utah Valley countered with a 13-2 run to quickly extend its lead 70-49 with 5:46 to play.

Utah Valley returns to action on 5:45 p.m. Wednesday against Weber State in Ogden. This is the second meeting between the two schools this year. Earlier this month the Wolverines beat the Wildcats 68-49 in Orem.