Utah Valley (6-4) vs. Bethesda (4-8) GAME INFORMATION
Live Video: WAC Digital Network (Brandon Crow/Holton Hunsaker)
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: UVU StatBroadcast
 

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OPENING TIP
After opening the season with what is likely the toughest 24 hours in basketball history with road losses at Kentucky and Duke, Utah Valley has rebounded to win six of its last eight games, improving its record to 6-4 overall. The Wolverines most recently dropped a 91-83 decision at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night. UVU now returns home to take on Bethesda on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (MT).

Despite all five of its starters finishing in double figures, Utah Valley dropped a 91-83 decision at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night. Kenneth Ogbe finished with a team-high 17 points, followed by Jake Toolson and Akolda Manyang with 15 points apiece. Brandon Randolph scored 12 points, while Conner Toolson helped with 11. Manyang was just one rebound shy of his third double double of the season. Utah Valley outrebounded Cal State Fullerton 34-32 on the night and finished the game shooting a 55.6 percent clip from the field compared to the Titans' 54.4 percent mark.

All five of UVU's starters are averaging double figure scoring this season led by Akolda Manyang's 15.7 points per game. Kenneth Ogbe ranks second on the team at 13.4 points, while Jake Toolson is third at 12.6 points a contest. Conner Toolson averages 11.5 points and Brandon Randolph comes in at 11.0 points per game.

Utah Valley has now played four teams that won their conference tournaments last season and made trips to the NCAA Tournament, including Kentucky (SEC Tournament), Duke (ACC Tournament), UC Davis (Big West Tournament), and North Dakota (Big Sky Tournament). The Wolverines went 2-2 with wins over UC Davis and North Dakota.

UVU opened the season with what might just be the toughest 24 hours ever played in college basketball history as the Wolverines took on No. 4/5 Kentucky and No. 1 Duke on back-to-back nights to open the season. The Wolverines dropped a 73-63 decision at Kentucky before falling 99-69 at Duke. UVU has since won four straight games.

UVU welcomed a record 7,574 fans through the UCCU Center doors on Nov. 29 against BYU in the program's first-ever sold out game. The 7,574 fans breaks the previous record of 7,124 set against Utah State on Dec. 18, 2010.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday night's game will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network at WACsports.com/live. The game will also be broadcast on the air waves at ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch handling the play-by-play 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 BETHESDA
Bethesda enters Thursday night's matchup against the Wolverines with a 4-8 overall record. The team has played
seven exhibition games that are not included in the team's overall record. The team went 0-7 in those exhibition contests. The team has three common opponents with Utah Valley as the team has played UC Davis, Cal State Fullerton, and Idaho State. Bethesda dropped a 111-56 decision to UC Davis, fell 77-35 at Cal State Fullerton, and suffered a 92-71 setback at Idaho State. The team most recently snapped 14-game losing streak with a 104-81 win over Multnomah Bible on Friday night. It's matchup against Westmont on Saturday was postponed. Junior guard Ammar Rehman leads the team in scoring at 13.2 points a contest. He also fronts the team on the boards, pulling down 5.3 rebounds a game. Senior guard Jordan Lopez also averages double figures at 12.0 points per game. As a team, Bethesda averages 71.6 points per game while allowing opponents a 79.4 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. BETHESDA
Utah Valley and Bethesda meet up on the basketball hardwood for the first time on Thursday night. Bethesda marks the second of three games against non-division I opponents for UVU this season. The Wolverines defeated Eastern Oregon, 97-52, on Nov. 20. UVU will also host non-division I opponent Montana Tech on Dec. 20.

UTAH VALLEY SUFFERS 91-83 SETBACK AT CAL STATE FULLERTON
In a tightly-contested game that saw the score stay within roughly five points for the majority of the contest, Cal State Fullerton pulled away late to defeat the Utah Valley University men's basketball team, 91-83, on Saturday night at Titan Gym.
 
The Wolverines outshot the opposition on the night behind a 55.6 percent clip from the field, and won the rebounding battle 34-32. Utah Valley had four more transition points than Fullerton, and points in the paint were even at 36 apiece.
 
After a 5-0 start from the Titans, Kenneth Ogbe got UVU's offense going by hitting a corner three and then driving for an easy layup on the next possession. Cal State Fullerton worked its lead up to eight early on, but Utah Valley fought its way back and went on a 7-0 run to take is first lead of the game, 17-16, into the first media timeout. The next stretch of the contest featured both teams hitting multiple shots from three-point range, though neither side was able to pull away. Altogether, both squads combined to knock down 11 threes in the opening half of play.
 
With Fullerton up six and threatening to pull ahead, Brandon Randolph hit a floater in the lane and Ben Nakwaasah grabbed a steal which led to a layup on the other end to pull the Wolverines back within two. Moments later, Akolda Manyang hit a layup to even the game and Jake Toolson hit a free throw to give UVU the lead. Both teams traded leads for the remainder of the half, and the Titans took a 41-40 advantage into the break.
 
The second half opened and both teams continued to trade baskets. Neither team could go up by more than four until the Titans went on a 6-0 run to take a 62-56 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game. UVU answered with a 7-0 run of its own, sparked by a Zach Nelson three-point play, to go up by one. Cal State Fullerton slowly rebuilt its advantage, and went up by nine with under five minutes to play. Ogbe and Manyang kept the Wolverines close by hitting jumpers and free throws, but the Titans had an answer for every Utah Valley score and rode their hot shooting to the eight-point victory.
 
All five UVU starters finished the game in double-digit scoring. Ogbe led the way with 17 while Jake Toolson and Manyang finished with 15 points each. Manyang also led the Wolverines in rebounding with nine for the night.
Randolph contributed in all areas of the stat sheet with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. Conner Toolson scored 11 while grabbing five rebounds.

HOME SWEET UCCU CENTER
Utah Valley holds an all-time 155-46 (77.1 percent) record in 12 seasons at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines are averaging 12.5 wins a season at the UCCU Center. UVU finished play at home last season with an 8-5 record. UVU is 4-1 at home this season. UVU's game against BYU on Nov. 29 was the team's first-ever sellout since joining the Division I ranks in 2003. 7,574 fans attended the game on Wednesday night, breaking the previous attendance record of 7,124 set against Utah State on Dec. 18, 2010.

ALL FIVE UVU STARTERS AVERAGING DOUBLE DIGIT SCORING
Each of Utah Valley's five starters are averaging double figure scoring this season. Akolda Manyang leads the way at 15.7 points a game, followed by Kenneth Ogbe at 13.4 points, Jake Toolson at 12.6 points, Conner Toolson at 11.5 points, and Brandon Randolph at 11.0 points a contest. The five starters average a combined 64.2 points per game. As a team, UVU averages 78.8 points per game. The five starters are responsible for 81.4 percent of the team's points.

THREE-POINT STREAKING
Utah Valley has now hit a three-point field goal in 108 straight games. The last time UVU played in a game without hitting a shot from beyond the arc was on Feb. 27, 2014 against New Mexico State.

LARGEST CROWD IN UVU HISTORY
Utah Valley recorded its first-ever sellout as 7,574 fans entered through the UCCU Center doors to watch its game against crosstown rival BYU on Nov. 29. The 7,574 fans are the most ever to attend a UVU basketball game at the UCCU Center, breaking the previous record of 7,124 set against Utah State on Dec. 18, 2010.

All-Time UVU Mbb Largest Crowds
1.    Nov. 29, 2017 vs. BYU    7,574    L, 58-85
2.    Dec. 18, 2010 vs. Utah State    7,124    L, 58-76
3.    Dec. 10, 2016 vs. Utah State    6,792    L, 79-80 (OT)
4.    Feb. 25, 2012 vs. UTRGV    6,602    W, 74-64 (Ronnie Price Hall of Fame night)
5.    Jan. 03, 2012 vs. Wyoming    6,556    L, 70-76

ALL IN THE FAMILY
Utah Valley starters Conner and Jake Toolson are second cousins and basketball is in their blood. Conner and Jake's fathers are first cousins. UVU all-time leading scorer Ryan Toolson (2003-04, 06-09) is first cousins with Jake and second cousins with Conner. Ryan has enjoyed a lengthy professional career overseas. Jake is the nephew of two-time NBA champ and current Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge. Conner's father, Andy, played college basketball at BYU before playing a lengthy professional career that included two seasons with the Utah Jazz. The Toolson cousins are averaging a combined 22.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

SECOND-BEST RPI IN THE WAC
As of Dec. 13, Utah Valley's RPI is 69 according to WarrenNolan.com. UVU sits two spots ahead of Maryland at No. 71 and one spot ahead of Ball State at No. 70. The Wolverines have the best non-conference RPI win of the season with its victory over No. 27 UC Davis.  The Wolverines hold the second-best RPI in the WAC as the team sits just behind CSU Bakersfield (66). UVU is ahead of New Mexico State (102), Kansas City (174), Grand Canyon (213), Seattle U (235), UTRGV (273), and Chicago State (313).  The WAC's conference RPI currently sits at No. 16, ahead of the Summitt League (17), Big Sky (18), Southern (19), and Ohio Valley (20).

LEADING THE WAC
As of Dec. 13, Utah Valley leads the WAC in four statistical categories, including blocks per game (4.2), fewest fouls (169), field goal percentage (48.7), and personal fouls per game (16.9). The Wolverines also rank in the top-three of the WAC in 12 different statistical categories. Nationally, UVU ranks in the top-40 in two categories as the Wolverines rank 30th in the country in rebound margin (8.1) and 39th in rebounds/game (40.40).

MANYANG AMONG NATIONAL STAT LEADERS
As of Dec. 13, Akolda Manyang ranks in the top-50 nationally in six statistical categories. Manyang ranks 13th in total blocks (29), 15th in blocks per game (2.90), 15th in field goal percentage (67.0), 32nd in rebounds per game (9.7), 34th in rebounds (97), and 49th in defensive rebounds per game (6.60).

FIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS ON THIS SEASON'S SLATE
Utah Valley will play five teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season. In fact, the team plays five teams that won their conference tournaments last year. Kentucky won the SEC Tournament, Duke won the ACC Tournament, UC Davis won the Big West Tournament, North Dakota won the Big Sky Tournament, and New Mexico State won the WAC Tournament. UVU has already played four of those teams this season, three of which were on the road. UVU fell to Kentucky (63-73) and Duke (69-99) on back-to-back nights. The team then defeated UC Davis at home, 80-71, in the Wolverines' home opener before getting past North Dakota, 83-75, in overtime on the road.