Utah Valley (12-5) vs. Kansas City (5-12)
Thursday, January 11, 2018  |  7 p.m. MT
Orem, Utah   |   UCCU Center (7,500)
Complete Utah Valley Game Notes (PDF)

GAME INFORMATION
TV: UVUtv (Brandon Crow/Holton Hunsaker)
Live Video: WAC Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: UVU StatBroadcast
 

---

OPENING TIP
Utah Valley defeated defending WAC regular season champion CSU Bakersfield, 75-42, in the team's conference opener last week at the UCCU Center. UVU has now won five straight, including six of the team's last seven games. The Wolverines continue WAC play on Thursday night against Kansas City at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (MST).

After a tightly contested opening half, Utah Valley used a 49-17 advantage in the second half to claim a 75-42 victory over CSU Bakersfield in the first WAC game of the season on Saturday night at the UCCU Center. The win stretched UVU's winning streak to five games and snapped a six-game winless streak against CSUB. Jake Toolson led the way for UVU in scoring and rebounding with 15 points and seven rebounds. Randolph followed closely with 13 points on a 5-of-7 clip from the field while pulling down four rebounds and dishing out four assists. DeBerry contributed a solid 12 points off the bench on a 7-of-8 mark from the charity stripe, and Ogbe put in 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 clip from the free-throw line. Conner Toolson scored 10 points on the night while grabbing five rebounds, and Neilson scored eight points as well.

All five of UVU's starters are averaging double figure scoring this season led by Kenneth Ogbe's 13.9 points per game. Akolda Manyang ranks second on the team at 13.6 points, while Jake Toolson is third at 12.3 points a contest. Brandon Randolph averages 12.2 points and Conner Toolson averages 11.3 points per game. Non-starter Jerrelle DeBerry is also averaging double digits at 12.0 points a game.

Utah Valley graduate forward Zach Nelson is closing in on the 1,000-point mark. Nelson currently has 931 points and is just 69 points shy of reaching the milestone. Nelson will become just the seventh player in UVU history to reach the mark. Nelson will become the first player in UVU history to score 1,000 points, pull down 500 or more rebounds and dish out 200 or more assists.
 
Utah Valley has 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 eight of its last 11 games.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday night's game will be broadcast live on UVUtv with a live stream available on the WAC Digital Network at WACsports.com/live. The game will also be available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku. Brandon Crow and former Wolverine Holton Hunsaker will be on the call. The game will also be available on the air waves at ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch handling the play-by-play duties. A live audio 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 KANSAS CITY
Kansas City enters Thursday night's game with a 5-12 overall record. The team holds a 2-5 record on the road this season. UMKC opened WAC play on Saturday night with a 73-61 loss at home to UT Rio Grande Valley. UMKC trailed by as many as 17 points in Saturday's game but cut the spread to just six points in the final minutes before taking the 73-61 setback. Senior guard Broderick Robinson led the Kangaroos with 20 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Sophomore guard Isaiah Ross and sophomore forward Jordan Giles also scored in double figures with 12 points apiece. Robinson leads the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game and in rebounding at 4.9 boards a contest. Sophomore guard Xavier Bishop and Ross also average double digit scoring at 11.9 and 11.8 points per game, respectively. As a team, UMKC averages 71.8 points a game while allowing opponents a 76.1 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. KANSAS CITY
Utah Valley and Kansas City meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 17th time on Thursday night. UVU holds a 9-7 all-time advantage in the series dating back to 2005. The two teams split the two-game WAC series last year with each team winning on its home floor. UMKC has won two of the last three contests, including an 84-76 win on Feb. 9, 2017 in the last meeting between the two schools. UVU holds an all-time 6-2 advantage over UMKC in games played at the UCCU Center.

Last Five Results vs. Kansas City (UVU leads 9-7)
Feb. 09, 2017    Kansas City def. Utah Valley, 84-76    Kansas City
Jan. 14, 2017    Utah Valley def. Kansas City, 86-76    Orem, Utah
Mar. 10, 2016    Kansas City def. Utah Valley, 80-78    Las Vegas (WAC Tournament)
Feb. 20, 2016    Utah Valley def. Kansas City, 79-70    Orem, Utah
Jan. 21, 2016    Utah Valley def. Kansas City, 90-79    Kansas City

LAST TIME VS. KANSAS CITY (2/9/17)
Kenneth Ogbe scored a game-high 24 points and Jordan Poydras helped with 15 to lead Utah Valley in an 84-76 setback on the road to UMKC on Feb. 9, 2017 at Municipal Auditorium.
 
Utah Valley fell to 10-13 overall and 2-6 in WAC play with the loss. UMKC improved to 13-13 overall and 5-4 in league play.
 
UMKC jumped out to an eight point, 15-7, after the first seven minutes of play. Andrew Bastien then scored back-to-back buckets to cut the UMKC lead to just a 15-11 advantage with 12 minutes remaining in the half. UMKC then extended its lead 10 points at the half to take a 43-33 lead into the break.
 
Jared Stutzman then knocked down a three to open the second half scoring for UVU, spurring an 11-0 run over a two-minute span to cut the UMKC lead to just one point, 45-44, at the 17:19 mark. UMKC then went on a 9-2 run which was countered by a 13-4 UVU run capped off by a Brandon Randolph dunk and an Ivory Young three to take a 60-57 lead at the 9:32 mark. UMKC countered with a 18-6 run to jump out to a nine-point, 75-66, lead with 4:36 to play. The Kangaroos held on their lead over the final minutes to secure the 84-76 win.  
 
Ogbe scored his 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including an impressive 5-of-8 clip from long range. The junior forward also went a perfect 5-for-5 at the charity stripe.  
 
Poydras connected on 5-of-10 shots from the field with a pair of three-pointers for his 15 points. He also knocked 3-of-4 shots at the free throw line and pulled down three rebounds with three assists and a steal.
 
Young was also in double figures with 13 points, knocking down 5-of-11 shots from the field with three made shots from beyond the arc. Young also tallied two steals and dished out a pair of assists. Bastien scored seven points with a three rebounds and a pair of blocks.
 
Utah Valley shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field, including a 35.1 percent (13-of-37) clip from three-point range. UMKC connected on 48.4 percent (30-of-62) of its shots on the night, including a 50.0 percent (11-of-22) clip from long range.  The Kangaroos scored 34 of their points off of 21 UVU turnovers.
 
Kyle Steward led UMKC with a team-high 20 points. LaVell Boyd and Dashawn King were also in double figures for the Kangaroos with 19 and 13 points, respectively.

STRONG SECOND HALF LIFTS UTAH VALLEY TO 75-42 WIN OVER CSU BAKERSFIELD IN WAC OPENER
After a tightly contested opening half, Utah Valley used a 49-17 advantage in the second half to claim a 75-42 victory over CSU Bakersfield in the first WAC game of the season on Saturday night at the UCCU Center.
 
With the win, the Wolverines improved their record to 12-5 overall on the season and 1-0 in conference play. The win stretched UVU's winning streak to five games and snapped a six-game winless streak against CSUB. Utah Valley won the rebounding battle on the night, 33-28, and scored 20 points off turnovers compared to just eight for Bakersfield. The Wolverines also boasted a 48 percent mark from the field while the Roadrunners hit just 33 percent of their shots.
 
Both team struggled to get on the scoreboard early as the total was locked at 3-3 through five minutes in the first half. Kenneth Ogbe knocked down a three to get Utah Valley going from the field. Out of the timeout, Brandon Randolph hit a contested layup and Conner Toolson drilled a three in transition to spark a quick, 7-0 run.
 
After a 9-0 run from CSU Bakersfield gave them the lead, Jerrelle DeBerry and Ben Nakwaasah came of the bench to reignite the Wolverine offense with consecutive baskets. Isaac Neilson then joined in on the bench production with a layup of his own to give UVU a one-point lead with just over nine minutes to play in the half.
 
Neilson's bucket started another 7-0 run for Utah Valley, which included a three from Jake Toolson. CSUB tied the game with a 7-2 stretch, but DeBerry knocked down a three on the next possession to put the Wolverines up. A pair of free-throws from the Runners trimmed UVU's lead to one and made the score 26-25 heading into the halftime break.
 
Utah Valley used a balanced-scoring effort in the opening half, but DeBerry and Ogbe led the way with five apiece. Like the point totals, UVU's rebounding was balanced in the first half while Conner Toolson and Jake Toolson pulled down three boards each. Randolph's four assists led the Wolverines. Conner Toolson also grabbed two steals.
 
Out of the gate in the second half, Utah Valley started hot with a 16-2 run to open up a 15-point lead. The run spanned the first eight minutes and two seconds of the half. Randolph led the burst for the Wolverines with six points, including a three as the shot clock expired.
 
UVU continued its hot streak as the next stretch of the game featured a 15-5 run from the Wolverines, capped by back-to-back threes from the Toolson cousins. Utah Valley continued to steadily build its lead, and with just under two minutes to play Utah Valley claimed its largest lead, 33 points, on a free-throw from DeBerry.
 
Jake Toolson led the way for UVU in scoring and rebounding with 15 points and seven rebounds. Randolph followed closely with 13 points on a 5-of-7 clip from the field while pulling down four rebounds and dishing out four assists. DeBerry contributed a solid 12 points off the bench on a 7-of-8 mark from the charity stripe, and Ogbe put in 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 clip from the free-throw line. Conner Toolson scored 10 points on the night while grabbing five rebounds, and Neilson scored eight points as well.

UVU RECORDS BEST NON-CONFERENCE RECORD IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Utah Valley secured its best non-conference record since the team entered the Great West Conference in 2008. The Wolverines played independently as a provision Division I member from 2003 to 2008 and were not affiliated with a conference. UVU opened the 2003-04 season with a 11-5 record through its first 16 games but 10 of the 11 wins were over non-Division I members.

Best Non-Conference records since joining WAC (2013-14 season)
1.    11-5    2017-18 season
2.    8-7    2016-17 season
3.    6-7    2013-14 season
4.    6-9    2015-16 season
5.    5-9    2014-15 season

Best 17-game start to a season (Since playing a full D-I schedule in 04-05)
1.    12-5    2017-18 season
2.    11-6    2006-07 season
3.    10-7    2013-14 season
4.    9-8    2008-09 season
    9-8    2010-11 season
6.    8-9    2016-17 season

STREAKING
With its win over CSU Bakersfield on Saturday night, Utah Valley has now won five straight games, the longest win streak of the season. The five-game win streak matches last year's best streak of five games. The longest win streak in school history came during the 2011-12 season when the Wolverines won 13 straight games. The current five-game win streak ties the team for the fifth-longest win streak in program history.

Longest Win Streaks in UVU history (Since playing a full D-I schedule in 04-05)
1.    13-game    2011-12 season
1.    9-game    2006-07 season
3.    8-game    2013-14 season
2.    6-game    2007-08 season
3.    5-game    2010-11 season
    5-game    2017-18 season

WAC OPENERS
Utah Valley is now 3-2 all-time in WAC openers after defeating CSU Bakersfield on Saturday night. The team is now 2-1 in WAC openers when opening the season at the UCCU Center.

UVU GAINING VOTES IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID-MAJOR POLL
Utah Valley has 13 votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Wolverines now sit in the 38th spot in the poll. WAC foe New Mexico State moved up to No. 3 in the latest poll. Grand Canyon is also receiving votes in the poll (43) and sits in the 30th spot.

UVU ONE OF JUST TWO TEAMS IN THE COUNTRY TO HAVE ALL FIVE STARTERS AVERAGE DOUBLE DIGIT SCORING
Utah Valley is one of just two teams in the nation to have all five of its starters averaging double figure scoring this season. Kenneth Ogbe leads the way at 13.9 points a game, followed by Akolda Manyang at 13.6 points, Jake Toolson at 12.3 points, Brandon Randolph at 12.2 points, and Conner Toolson at 11.3 points a contest. The five starters average a combined 63.3 points per game. As a team, UVU averages 80.8 points per game. The five starters are responsible for 78 percent of the team's points.

LOVING THE LONG BALL
Utah Valley his 16 three-point field goals in its 90-82 win over UC Riverside on Dec. 28. The 16 threes ties the team for the second most in school history with the 2008-09 team which also knocked down 16 threes against NJIT on Feb. 28, 2009. UVU broke the three-point field goals made record in a win at BYU last season as the team knocked down 18 treys en route to its 114-101 win at the Marriott Center last season. UVU did connect on a school-record 13 threes in the first half of the win over UC Riverside on Dec. 28. The 13 threes are the most ever recorded in a single half by a UVU team.

THREE-POINT STREAKING
Utah Valley has now hit a three-point field goal in 114 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.

HOME SWEET UCCU CENTER
Utah Valley holds an all-time 159-46 (77.5 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 9-1 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.