Utah Valley (6-3) vs. Cal State Fullerton (5-3) GAME INFORMATION
Live Video: BigSky.tv
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: FullertonTitans.com
 

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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 seven games, improving its record to 6-3 overall. The Wolverines most recently picked up an 83-56 win over in-state rival Weber State at home on Wednesday night. UVU now travels to play Big West foe Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at Titan Gym. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (MT).

Akolda Manyang scored a career-high 25 points, pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds and tied a career high with six blocks to lead Utah Valley to an 83-56 win over in-state rival Weber State on Wednesday night at the UCCU Center. Manyang knocked down an impressive 12-of-13 shots from the field, a 92.3 percent clip. Conner Toolson scored 16 points, while Kenneth Ogbe and Brandon Randolph were also in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Jake Toolson dished out a career-high nine assists without committing a single turnover. Randolph tallied a season-high eight assists without a turnover as well. As a team, UVU shot an impressive 55.6 percent (35-of-63) from the field, including a 58.3 percent mark from long range (7-of-12).

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
Saturday night's game will be streamed live on BigWest.tv. The game will also be broadcast on the air waves at ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch and Jason Erickson 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 CAL STATE FULLERTON
Cal State Fullerton earned its fourth straight victory with a 76-66 win over Portland on Wednesday night in the city of roses. The win pushed the Titans' record to 5-3 overall. Junior guards Khalil Ahmad and Kyle Allman, Jr. led Cal State Fullerton to the win over Portland as the duo scored a combined 45 points. Ahmad scored 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor, including a 4-of-7 clip from beyond the arc. Allman scored his 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and a 9-of-13 clip from the charity stripe. Since dropping a 64-57 decision to Georgia on Nov. 23, Fullerton has won four straight with wins over Sacramento State, Harvard, Cal Lutheran and Portland. The team now returns home to take on UVU at Titan Gym where the team holds a 3-1 record this season. Allman, Jr. leads the team in scoring at 16.6 points per game. Sophomore forward Jackson Rowe also averages double digits at 12.6 points a contest and leads the team on the boards, pulling down 5.9 rebounds a game. Ahmad also averages double figures at 11.9 points per game. The three combine for an average of 50.1 points a game. As a team, Cal State Fullerton is averaging 66.6 points a contest while limiting opponents an average of 63.4 points per game. The Titans are coached by Dedrique Taylor who is in his fifth season with the team. Taylor spent time as an assistant/associate head coach at Arizona State for seven years prior to joining Fullerton.

SERIES HISTORY VS. FULLERTON, BIG WEST
Utah Valley and Cal State Fullerton meet up on the basketball hardwood for the first time on Saturday night. Utah Valley holds an all-time 4-7 record against teams from the Big West Conference. The Wolverines have four games against teams from the Big West this season. UVU defeated defending Big West champion UC Davis, 80-71, on Nov. 18. Following Saturday's game at Fullerton, UVU will play Big West members Hawaii and UC Riverside on Dec. 17 and Dec. 28, respectively. UVU will also host Cal State Fullerton at home on Dec. 30.

All-Time Results vs. Big West
Nov. 18, 2017    Utah Valley def. UC Davis, 80-71        Orem, Utah
Dec. 31, 2016    UC Davis def. Utah Valley, 83-69        Davis, Calif.
Dec. 28, 2016    Utah Valley def. UC Riverside, 73-64        Riverside, Calif.
Nov. 28, 2015    UC Davis def. Utah Valley, 82-70        Orem, Utah
Nov. 29, 2014    UC Davis def. Utah Valley, 64-43        Davis, Calif.
Dec. 04, 2008    UC Santa Barbara def. Utah Valley, 62-57        Orem, Utah
Dec. 28, 2007    Cal State Northridge def. Utah Valley, 73-65    Orem, Utah
Dec. 07, 2007    UC Santa Barbara def. Utah Valley, 81-61        Santa Barbara, Calif.
Dec. 05, 2007    Cal State Northridge def. Utah Valley, 76-64    Northridge, Calif.
Feb. 06, 2007    Utah Valley def. UC Davis, 88-59        Orem, Utah
Jan. 06, 2007    Utah Valley def. UC Davis, 57-38        Davis, Calif.

MANYANG'S CAREER NIGHT LEADS UVU TO 83-56 WIN OVER IN-STATE RIVAL WEBER STATE
Akolda Manyang scored a career-high 25 points, pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds and tied a career high with six blocks to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to an 83-56 win over in-state rival Weber State on Wednesday night at the UCCU Center.

Utah Valley has now won six of its last seven games, improving its record to 6-3 on the season. Weber State falls to 4-4 with the loss.

UVU outrebounded WSU 43-27 on the night and shot 60 percent from the field compared to Weber's 37.5 percent clip. Utah Valley's defense earned 10 blocks and four steals, while the offense outscored Weber State 52-26 in the paint. Four different players finished the game in double figures for the Wolverines, and UVU never trailed on the scoreboard the entire night.

In addition to Manyang's career performance, which saw him go 12-of-13 from the floor, Jake Toolson had eight points to go along with six rebounds and nine assists. Conner Toolson finished his night with 16 points three steals, and Ogbe tallied 15 points on a 5-of-7 clip from the field. Randolph dropped in 10 points while dishing out eight assists and grabbing six rebounds.

Jake Toolson and Brandon Randolph combined for 17 assists and zero turnovers. As a team, UVU tied a season high with 23 assists on the night. UVU committed a season-low seven turnovers.

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.

THREE-POINT STREAKING
Utah Valley has now hit a three-point field goal in 107 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.

TOP RPI IN THE WAC
As of Dec. 7, Utah Valley's RPI is 45 according to WarrenNolan.com. UVU sits a spot ahead of Miami at No. 43.  The Wolverines hold the best RPI in the WAC as the team sits ahead of CSU Bakersfield (106), New Mexico State (137), Kansas City (195), Seattle U (203), Grand Canyon (214), UTRGV (275), and Chicago State (325).  The WAC's conference RPI currently sits at No. 18, ahead of the Southern (19), Ohio Valley (20), Southland (21), Atlantic Sun (22), and Sun Belt (23).

UVU STARTING CONTINUES TO RECEIVE VOTES IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM TOP-25 POLL
Utah Valley started to receive votes in the last week's CollegeInsider.com top-25 poll. The Wolverines continued to receive votes (5) in this week's poll and sit just behind Navy and Tennessee Tech who are  each receiving six votes. UVU plays four teams this season that are currently ranked or receiving votes in the poll.

LEADING THE WAC
As of Dec. 7, Utah Valley leads the WAC in four statistical categories, including blocks per game (4.4), defensive rebounds per game (28.56), field goal percentage (48.0), and personal fouls per game (16.0). The Wolverines also rank in the top-three of the WAC in 14 different statistical categories. Nationally, UVU ranks in the top-30 in two categories as the Wolverines rank 28th in the country in rebound margin (8.8) and 29th nationally in personal fouls per game (16.0).

MANYANG AMONG NATIONAL STAT LEADERS
As of Dec. 7, Akolda Manyang ranks in the top-50 nationally in six statistical categories. Manyang ranks 11th in total blocks (27), 15th in blocks per game (3.00), 17th in field goal percentage (66.3), 27th in rebounds (88), 35th in rebounds per game (9.8), and 50th in double doubles (3).

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.