Freshman Malachi Flynn scored a career-best 27 points and Washington State snapped a two-game losing streak with an 83-76 victory over Utah Valley on Wednesday night.

While those numbers are important, Cougars coach Ernie Kent was more concerned after the game about this number next to the word “Attendance’ in the box score: 2,314.

“It’s very disappointing for these kids to come out into this gym and not have any people here,” Kent told Matt Chazanow of the Washington State IMG Sports Network afterwards. “It’s difficult for our guys to be in this arena and nobody is here because you don’t get the extra push from the crowd. When you have a crowd cheering for you, the confidence comes very quick.

“We need people to come out. You don’t need to look at me. Look at our players. We have enough good players here. We need the crowd to help us grow up. Otherwise, we have to go on the road and grow up. That is not an easy task. We’d like to do it at home.”

Washington State (4-3) led by 19 points with 16:41 left in the game, but Utah Valley closed the gap to five points with 5:44 remaining, making five of their last six shots.

Brandon Randolph's dunk with 1:06 remaining pulled Utah Valley to 77-76 with 1:06 left. Josh Hawkinson answered on the other end and after Utah Valley missed two 3s, Charles Callison hit two free throws with 24 seconds left for a four-point lead.

Flynn was 11-for-14 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3-point range. Derrien King added 13 points and Hawkinson notched his 45th career double-double and sixth of the season with 12 points and 17 rebounds.

Hawkinson has scored in doubles figures in all seven games this season.

Flynn’s 27 points ranks sixth all-time on the WSU freshman single game scoring list, while his 11 field goals are the most ever by a Cougars freshman. His 15 first-half points were the most by a Cougars guard in any game this season.

Flynn added 7 rebounds and 3 assists to his tally.

“We have one of the best freshman in the country on this team, Kent said. “A freshman who has taken some darts that nobody else in the Pac-12 recruited him. I’ll guarantee you every team in the Pac-12 will wish they had him, and 85 percent of the teams in the country will wish they had him.

“His poise, leadership, academic integrity, tremendous character makes him a very gifted, unique player. People need to get into this arena and watch him play. He is growing up quickly right in front of our eyes. Fortunately, Malachi has self-confidence and it shows in his game.”

The Wolverines (4-2) were led by Kenneth Ogbe with 20 points. Ogbe, Isaac Neilson (18) and Zach Nelson (13) all scored in double figures. Utah Valley is renowned as a fast-paced tempo team that loves to shoot from behind the arc. They attempted 36 3-point field goals on Wednesday night.

WSU held Utah Valley, which scored 114 points at BYU last weekend, to 37.3 percent shooting (28-75), including just 33.3 percent (13-39) in the first half when UVU scored just 31 points. WSU led, 49-31, at intermissions.

“This team just needs to grow,” Kent said. “It’s not there yet. We’re going to have some nights where the ball doesn’t go in, but I’m happy with the way we played with nobody in here. Against San Jose State, we didn’t have the energy and we didn’t play well. But we bounce back.”

Washington State held Utah Valley 11 points below its season average of 87.8 points per game

“This team is continuing to get better. We were very poised defensively and offensively in the first half. We had some slippage defensively in the second half and they showed how potent they are when they got back into the game. But we were able to close it out.”

BIG PICTURE: After falling to San Jose State on Sunday, Washington State gained back some momentum against Utah Valley as they enter the last stretch before conference play begin in a month. The Cougars finished last in the Pac-12 last season, and have yet to find sustainable momentum this season.

UP NEXT: Washington State hosts New Orleans on Sunday. The Cougars have five games remaining before conference play begins Jan. 1 at rival Washington.

(AP contributed to this story)