#4 Utah Valley vs. #5 Missouri-Kansas CityGAME INFORMATION
Live Video Stream: WAC Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 960 AM
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: WAC StatBroadcast
 

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LAS VEGAS, Nevada—The Utah Valley University men's basketball team makes its third appearance at the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at Orleans in Las Vegas this week. The Wolverines take the No. 4 seed into tournament play and will take on fifth-seeded UMKC on Thursday at 3 p.m. MST.
 
Utah Valley makes its third appearance at the WAC Tournament this week. The Wolverines hold an all-time 1-2 record at the tournament. UVU's lone win at the tournament was an 83-63 win over UTRGV in the quarterfinals of the 2013 tournament. The Wolverines earned the No. 1 seed in their first-ever appearance at the tournament in 2014. UVU took the No. 5 seed into last year's tournament.
 
"We're excited to be in Las Vegas for the WAC Tournament," Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope said. "We feel like we have some wins left in us and we're fired up to get out on the court on Thursday. Our guys will give it everything they have and they are excited about the opportunity to play for a bid to the NCAA Tournament."
                                                                                                                                               
Utah Valley enters Thursday's matchup against the Kangaroos with a 12-17 overall record. The Wolverines wrapped up WAC regular season play with a 6-8 record. The Wolverines most recently dropped an 86-79 decision to Grand Canyon in the team's regular season finale last Saturday. Marcel Davis led UVU with a team-high 22 points and led a late comeback that came up just short against the Lopes. Jaden Jackson and Hayden Schenck each had 11 points, while Alex Carr was also in double figures with a career-high 10 points.         
 
The Wolverines feature three of the top-six scorers in the WAC. Davis leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game. Jaden Jackson and Konner Frey also average double figures at 14.2 points and 14.1 points per game, respectively. Davis also leads the team in assists, dishing out nearly 5.0 a game, while Frey leads the team on the boards, pulling down 7.0 rebounds a contest.
 
UMKC heads into Thursday's game with an 11-18 overall record. The Kangaroos finished sixth in the WAC standings with a 4-10 league mark. The 'Roos most recently picked up an 82-53 win at Chicago State on Saturday night, snapping a three-game skid. LaVell Boyd led UMKC with a game-high 26 points, five rebounds and four assists in the win over the Cougars. The junior guard earned WAC Player of the Week honors for his performance against CSU. Junior guard Martez Harrison, last year's WAC Player of the Year, leads the 'Roos in scoring at 15.1 points per game. Boyd also averages double figures at 13.7 points a contest. As a team, UMKC averages 69.2 points a game while allowing opponents a 71.9 points per game average.  Kareem Richardson is in his third season as the head coach of the program. He holds a 35-56 record with the team.
 
Saturday's matchup with the 'Roos marks the 14th time the two teams have met on the basketball hardwood. UVU holds an all-time 8-5 advantage in the series. UMKC had won three straight over the Wolverines until UVU snapped the streak with a 90-79 win over the 'Roos on Jan. 21 in Kansas City. UVU erased a 20-point first half deficit to defeat UMKC 79-70 on Feb. 20 in Orem to complete a sweep of this season's WAC series. Thursday's game marks the first time the two teams have met on a neutral floor.

Thursday's game will be broadcast live via the WAC Digital Network, which is available at www.WACsports.com/live. The game will also be broadcast live on ESPN 960 AM radio.