Utah Valley vs. UTSA GAME INFORMATION
Live Video Stream: WAC Digital Network (Brandon Crow/Matt Peterson)
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch/Holton Hunsaker)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: UVU StatBroadcast
 

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OPENING TIP
Utah Valley wrapped up a three-game road stretch with an 83-76 loss at Washington State on Wednesday night. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Wolverines who had not lost since the season opener at Gonzaga.

Kenneth Ogbe led the Wolverines with a team-high 20 points in the setback to Washington State. The junior forward connected on 7-of-11 shots from the field, including a 5-of-8 clip from beyond the arc. Isaac Neilson and Zach Nelson were also in double figures with 18 and 13 points, respectively.

Utah Valley knocked down a school-record 18 three-point field goals en route to its 114-101 win at BYU on Nov. 26. The 114 points are the second most points ever scored in a game by the Wolverines and is the most points ever scored by a BYU opponent in the Marriott Center. Isaac Neilson scored a career-high 26 points and Brandon Randolph recorded a career-high 21-point, 14-assist double-double in the win over BYU.

Utah Valley recorded its biggest comeback in school history on Nov. 23 as the team erased a 27-point deficit to defeat Denver 88-85 at Magness Arena. The Wolverines nearly erased an 18-point deficit in Wednesday's loss at Washington State as the Wolverines pulled to within one point with under a minute to play.

Junior forward Kenneth Ogbe leads the team in scoring through four games this season at 16.2 points per game. Three other Wolverines are also averaging double figures, including Isaac Neilson (14.2), Conner Toolson (13.2) and Brandon Randolph (10.5). Neilson fronts the Wolverines on the boards at 9.3 rebounds per game, while Randolph leads the team in assists at 5.8 a contest.

The Wolverines welcome 11 new players to this year's roster, including five who sat out the 2015-16 season due to NCAA transfer rules or injuries. UVU welcomes eight transfers and three freshmen to the team. Three of UVU's newcomers will have redshirt the season due to transfer rules.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game against UTSA will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network at WACsports.com/watch with Brandon Crow and Matt Peterson calling the action. The game will also be broadcast live on ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch and Holton Hunsaker handling the play-by-play and color duties. A live stream of the radio broadcast will be available through ESPN960sports.com and also through the ESPN 960 app, which is available for both iPhone and Android.

ABOUT UTSA
UTSA heads into Saturday's matchup against Utah Valley with a 2-5 overall record. The game marks the second of three straight road games for the Roadrunners. UTSA's two wins this season came against Prairie View A&M and Texas State, both at home. The 'Runners have played five of their seven games on the road this season. The team looks to pick up its first road win of the season on Saturday night. UTSA most recently dropped a 59-47 decision at Cal Poly on Thursday night. Junior forward Jeff Beverly led the 'Runners with17 points and nine rebounds in the setback.  Beverly leads UTSA in scoring at 16.7 points per game. He also averages 6.1 rebounds per game. UTSA is coached by Steve Henson who is in his first season with the team.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UTSA, CONFERENCE USA
Utah Valley and UTSA meet on the basketball hardwood for just the second time on Saturday night. UVU holds the 1-0 lead in the series after taking a 83-78 win at UTSA last season. UVU holds an all-time 2-1 record against teams from Conference USA. UVU's two wins against Conference USA include last year's 83-78 win over UTSA and a 65-62 win over Florida International in 2010.

COMEBACK FALLS SHORT IN 83-76 LOSS AT WASHINGTON STATE
Utah Valley's second half comeback came up just short as the Wolverines nearly erased an 18-point halftime deficit in an 83-76 setback to Washington State on Wednesday night at Beasley Coliseum.

The loss snaps a four-game win streak for the Wolverines, who fall to 4-2 overall on the season. Washington State improves to 4-3 with the win.

After going into halftime with an 18-point lead, 49-31, Washington State held on to the 18-point advantage, 65-47, with 12:03 remaining in the game. Utah Valley used an 18-5 run over the next six minutes to cut the WSU lead to just five points, 70-65, with 6:40 to play. The two teams traded free throws until WSU took an eight point lead, 77-69, with 3:25 remaining.
 
The Wolverines then went on a 7-0 run capped off by a Brandon Randolph dunk to get to within one point, 77-76, with one minute to play. WSU's Josh Hawkinson scored on a layup to put the Cougars back up by three points, 79-76, with 43 seconds to go. UVU had a pair of open looks at a three-pointer but couldn't get the shots to fall, forcing the Wolverines to foul and send WSU to the free throw line. The Cougars knocked down all four of their free throws over the final 20 seconds to secure the win.
 
Kenneth Ogbe led the Wolverines with a team-high 20 points. The junior forward connected on 7-of-11 shots from the field, including a 5-of-8 clip from beyond the arc. He also pulled down six rebounds.
 
Isaac Neilson and Zach Nelson were also in double figures with 18 and 13 points, respectively. Neilson hit 7-of-13 shots from the floor, including a pair from long range. Neilson also pulled down eight rebounds with two assists and two steals. Nelson knocked down 6-of-7 shots on the night.
 
Randolph toyed with a triple-double, recording eight points, eight assists and seven steals.
 
The Wolverines shot 37.3 percent from the field compared to WSU's 50 percent clip. Utah Valley connected on 11 shots from long range, finishing the game with a 30.6 percent clip from three. The Wolverines were out-rebounded, 44-39.

UVU PICKS UP HISTORIC 114-101 WIN OVER CROSSTOWN RIVAL BYU
Isaac Neilson scored a career-high 26 points and Brandon Randolph recorded a 21-point, 14-assist double-double to help lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to a 114-101 win over Brigham Young in the UCCU Crosstown Clash on Nov. 26 at the Marriott Center.  

Utah Valley knocked down a school-record 18 three-point field goals en route to its 114-point performance—the second most points ever scored in a game by the Wolverines. The 114 points are also the most points ever scored by a BYU opponent in the Marriott Center.

Neilson connected on an impressive 10-of-12 shots from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 clip from beyond the arc. The junior forward was just one rebound shy of his third double-double with nine boards. He also tallied a pair of blocks. Randolph registered his career-high 21 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field. The junior guard also went a perfect 2-for-2 from long range and made 8-of-10 free throws.

Randolph was just one rebound shy of a triple-double as he tallied his 21 points with 14 assists and nine rebounds. Randolph's 14 helpers are the most assists ever recorded by a UVU player in a single game, breaking the previous single game record of 12 set by Nick Thompson against Austin Peay in 2012. Conner Toolson and Poydras also had career nights with 21 and 20 points, respectively.  

Jared Stutzman was also in double figures with 11 points. Utah Valley shot 52.9 percent (36-of-68) from the field, including a 48.6 percent (18-of-37) clip from beyond the arc. The Wolverines held BYU to a 47.4 percent (37-of-78) mark from the field and a 28.6 percent (6-of-21) clip from long range. The Wolverines out-rebounded BYU 43-38 on the night.

NEILSON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley junior forward Isaac Neilson has been named the Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for his play in a pair of UVU road wins last week over BYU and Denver. This is the first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor for Neilson. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native averaged 15.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game last week and led Utah Valley to a 2-0 record with a come-from-behind road win at Denver and the team's first-ever win over Brigham Young. Neilson shot a blistering 80.0 percent (12-of-15) from the field, went a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and knocked down 5-of-7 free throws (71.4 percent). He opened the week by pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds, scoring five points and blocking two shots to help UVU erase a 27-point deficit, the largest in school history, to defeat Denver 88-85 in the Mile High City last Wednesday. In a historic 114-101 win at BYU, Neilson scored a career-high 26 points, grabbed nine rebounds, blocked two shots, dished out one assist and nabbed one steal against his former team as the Wolverines scored the most points ever at the Marriott Center (114).

RECORDS FALL AT MARRIOTT CENTER IN WIN OVER BYU
Utah Valley's 114 points against BYU are the most points ever scored against the Cougars in the Marriott Center. UVU's 18 three-point field goals are also the most ever recorded in the Marriott Center. The 18 threes breaks the UVU single game record for threes, breaking the previous record of 16 set in 2009 against NJIT.

RANDOLPH BREAKS UVU SINGLE GAME ASSISTS RECORD
Utah Valley junior guard Brandon Randolph registered 14 assists in the Wolverines' win at BYU on Saturday night. The 14 assists are the most ever recorded in a single game in UVU history. Randolph breaks the previous record of 12 set by Nick Thompson on Dec. 28, 2012 against Austin Peay. The 14 assists ties Randolph with Fordham's  Joseph Chartouny and  Ball State's Tayler Persons for the most assists dished out in a single game in the country this season. Randolph ranks 32nd nationally, averaging 5.8 assists per game this season.

UVU RPI SITS AT 57
Utah Valley's RPI dropped from No. 39 to No. 57 after Wednesday's loss at Washington State, according to ESPN.com. UVU holds the second-best  RPI in the WAC behind New Mexico State at No. 56. The Wolverines sit ahead of UMKC (104), Seattle U (119), Grand Canyon (136), UTRGV (177), Chicago State (187) and CSU Bakersfield (210).

MILE HIGH MAGIC - UVU RECORDS BIGGEST COMEBACK IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Utah Valley recorded its biggest comeback in school history as the Wolverines overcame a 27-point deficit to defeat Denver 88-85 on Nov. 23 at Magness Arena. Utah Valley was just five points shy of breaking the all-time NCAA record for biggest deficit overcome to win a game set by Duke, which came back from 32 points down to defeat Tulane in 1950. The 27-point comeback win breaks the previous UVU record set last season when the Wolverines came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat UMKC, 79-70.

WOLVERINES ENTER COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID MAJOR TOP 25 POLL
For the first time this season, Utah Valley has broken into the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 Poll. The Wolverines debut at No. 24 this week after picking up a pair of road wins over Denver and BYU last week to improve to 4-1 overall on the season. The Wolverines rank 24th, just ahead of Oakland at No. 25. Gonzaga continues to sit atop the poll, while BYU falls from No. 5 to No. 14 after the loss to UVU.

FOUR-GAME WIN STREAK HALTED
Utah Valley won four straight games for the first time since the 2013-14 season, the same year the Wolverines won the WAC regular season title. UVU four-game win streak included wins over Idaho State, Benedictine, Denver and BYU.

BOMBS AWAY - UVU RANKS FIFTH NATIONALLY AT 11.3 THREES PER GAME
Utah Valley has knocked down 68 three-pointers through just six games this season. At that pace, Utah Valley is set to connect on more than 300 shots from beyond the arc this season. The team is on track to break the UVU single season record of 256 made threes set by last year's team. UVU has already broken the all-time UVU single game record for threes made with 18 at BYU. The team also broke the single game UVU record for threes attempted as the Wolverines put up a school-record 43 three-point attempts in a 86-52 win over Benedictine on Nov. 19, surpassing the previous record of 37 set last season against Chicago State (2/18/2016). Utah Valley ranks fifth in the nation in threes per game (11.3).

OGBE RANKS THIRD NATIONALLY IN 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
UVU junior forward Kenneth Ogbe ranks fifth in the nation with a 63.3 percent clip from long range this season. Ogbe has knocked down 19-of-30 shots from beyond the arc this season and averages 3.1 threes per game.

UVU OVERCOMES 27-POINT DEFICIT TO DEFEAT DENVER, 88-85
Kenneth Ogbe scored a career-high 28 points and Jordan Poydras added a career-high 23 points to help lead Utah Valley to its biggest comeback in school history as the Wolverines overcame a 27-point deficit to defeat Denver 88-85 on Wednesday night at Magness Arena. Trailing by 27 points, 54-27, with 58 seconds to play in the first half, Utah Valley went on a 6-0 run capped off by a Poydras three to cut the DU lead to 21 points, 54-33, at the half. The Wolverines outscored Denver 8-3 to open the second half, cutting the Pioneer lead to 15 points, 57-42, with 17:54 to play. The two teams then went back-and-forth over the next five minutes, as Denver was able to hold on to a 17-point lead, 67-50, with 12 minutes remaining. Ogbe scored seven points over a five-minute stretch to lead Utah Valley on a 16-2 run to cut the Denver advantage to just three points, 69-66, with 7:54 to play. The Pioneers went up by six points, 73-67, at the 6:49 mark, but UVU countered with a 9-2 run capped off by a Poydras three-pointer that gave the Wolverines their second lead of the game since the opening minutes, 76-75, with four minutes to go. Utah Valley then out-scored Denver 12-10 over the final minutes and knocked down 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to secure the come-from-behind victory. Ogbe scored his career-high 28 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-4 clip from beyond the arc. The junior forward also knocked down 11-of-16 free throws. Poydras hit 5-of-11 shots from the floor, including 4-of-8 from long range for his career-high 23 points. He also connected on an impressive 9-of-11 shots from the charity stripe. Zach Nelson was in double figures with 18 points, connecting on 8-of-10 shots from the field. Nelson also pulled down five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists. Isaac Neilson led the Wolverines on the boards with 10 rebounds to go along with five points and two assists. Brandon Randolph scored seven points and dished out a game-high five assists.

NELSON CLIMBING UVU CAREER RECORD CHARTS
Zach Nelson currently ranks in the top-10 in 17 different all-time individual career statistical categories. The junior forward ranks fourth all-time at UVU in blocks (67), fifth in blocks per game (1.0), fifth in rebounds (407), fifth in defensive rebounds (307), fifth in defensive rebounds per game (4.5), sixth in rebound average (6.0), sixth in games started (66), seventh in assists (183), eighth in points scored (718), eighth in field goals made (278), eighth in field goal percentage (.496), eighth in assist average (2.7), ninth in minutes played (2,031), ninth in average minutes (29.9), 10th in scoring average (10.6), 10th in field goals attempted (560), and 10th in offensive rebound average (1.5).

SEVENTH-LARGEST CROWD IN UVU HISTORY
Utah Valley welcomed 6,117 fans to its home opener against Idaho State on Nov. 16. The 6,117 fans is the largest crowd for a home opener in UVU history. The Idaho State game is the highest attended game at the UCCU Center since the matchup with Utah State on Dec. 13, 2014 that produced 6,121 fans. Wednesday night's game marks the seventh highest attended game in UVU history.

NUVI BASKETBALL CENTER
Utah Valley University broke ground on a new $3.5 million basketball practice and conditioning facility on June 22 at a ceremony celebrating the new building.
 
The 14,500-square-foot facility, which is privately funded, will be named the NUVI Basketball Center after a lead donation from NUVI executive chair Keith Nellesen. The structure will be located on the south side of the UCCU Center on UVU's Orem campus.
 
The facility, designed by Method Studio, will include 8,000 square feet of court space and nine basketball standards, with "game-day atmosphere" graphics to match the UCCU Center environment. A mesh wall will separate the court from 1,900 square feet of strength and conditioning space, with sliding doors to dampen sound when necessary. A mezzanine level overlooks the court and will include 3,000 square feet of office space split into suites for the men's and women's coaching staff. Each suite will feature a large office for each head coach that can double as a conference room, offices for three assistant coaches and basketball operations.

NEW FACES
Utah Valley welcomes 11 new players to its roster this season, including three players (Brandon Randolph, Isaac Neilson, Jordan Poydras) who had to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. The Wolverines have added five new transfers to this year's roster, including three who will have to sit out and redshirt this season.UVU welcomes three freshman to the team, including sharp-shooters Conner Toolson and Jared Stutzman.

MBA SMARTS
Utah Valley might be the only team in the country with two juniors that are entering their first year in a post graduate MBA program. Zach Nelson and Kenneth Ogbe started their first year in the MBA program at UVU this year.

UVU RANKED 4TH IN PRESEASON COACHES POLL, 5TH IN MEDIA POLL - NELSON NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM
The Utah Valley University men's basketball team was picked to finish fourth by the coaches and fifth by the media in the WAC preseason polls released at the annual WAC Preview and Media Day at the Marriott Denver Airport Gateway Park.
 
UVU junior forward Zach Nelson earned preseason all-WAC second team honors by both the coaches and the media. Nelson returns to the team after sitting out last season with a medical redshirt. The junior forward played in all 30 games and made 28 starts for UVU during the 2014-15 season. He led the team in rebounding at 6.1 rebounds a game and ranked second on the team in scoring at 11.0 points a contest.
New Mexico State was picked to win the league in both polls. The Aggies received nine of the 24 available first place votes from the media and four first place votes from the coaches.
 
In the coaches' poll, Grand Canyon was picked to finish second with CSU Bakersfield third and Utah Valley fourth. Seattle U and UMKC tied for fifth followed by UT Rio Grande Valley in seventh and Chicago State in eighth.
 
On the media side, Grand Canyon was picked second and CSU Bakersfield was third. Seattle U was selected fourth and Utah Valley was fifth. UMKC was picked to finish sixth, followed by UTRGV in seventh and Chicago State in eighth. Utah Valley received two first place votes in the media poll.
 
WAITING IN THE WINGS
Utah Valley has three players that must redshirt this season due to NCAA transfer rules. UVU signees Jake Toolson (BYU), Cory Calvert (BYU) and Akolda Manyang (Oklahoma) will redshirt this season.