UTAH VALLEY SET TO TAKE ON LONG BEACH STATE IN MGM MAIN EVENT MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Fresh off a 72-65 win over Hartford on Monday, Utah Valley will play its fifth straight game away from home on Wednesday when the Wolverines take on Long Beach State for the MGM Main Event Middleweight Championship at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. (MST)

Conner Toolson scored a season-high 23 points with seven rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 72-65 win over Hartford at the MGM Main Event on Monday at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. Toolson scored his 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-7 clip from beyond the arc. He also knocked down 2-of-3 shots at the free throw line. Toolson also pulled down season-high seven rebounds. Jake Toolson scored 12 points on a 4-of-7 mark from the field, including a pair of threes. He also had three assists. TJ Washington and Baylee Steele were also in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Washington dished out four assists, while Steele pulled down seven boards

This is the fifth year that the MGM Resorts Main Event has been held. The event was previously held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The tournament has always featured eight teams split into a Heavyweight and Middleweight Bracket. Last season's winners were UNLV and Prairie View A&M.

Redshirt junior center Baylee Steele pulled down a school-record 19 rebounds at BYU on Nov. 9. Steele's 19 boards breaks the previous single game UVU mark of 18 set by Jon Bell at Florida Gulf Coast on March 5, 2004. Geddes Robinson tied the 18-rebound mark on Jan. 28, 2012 against NJIT. The record stood for 14 years before Steele broke it on Nov. 9, 2018 at BYU.

Conner Toolson moved up to sixth on the all-time UVU steals list. He passed up Chris Bailey (2005-07) for the sixth spot and is now just four steals away from the fifth spot on the list, which is occupied by cousin Ryan Toolson (2003-04, 06-09). Holton Hunsaker is UVU's all-time steals leader with 157.

Utah Valley currently owns the nation's fifth-longest active home win streak in the nation at 15 games. The Wolverines look to extend their win streak against North Dakota on Nov. 24.

Utah Valley returns just four letterwinners, including two starters from last year's squad that finished the season with a school-record 23 wins and a second-straight appearance at the College Basketball Invitational. Preseason All-WAC honorees Connor Toolson (12.1 ppg.) and Jake Toolson (10.9 ppg.) are back after combining to score an average of 23.0 points per game last season. The Wolverines return just 36 percent of its scoring from a season ago. Ben Nakwaasah (4.8 ppg.) and Richard Harward (1.3 ppg.) also return this season.

The Wolverines were selected to finish third by the media and fourth by the coaches in the WAC preseason poll. UVU received 162 points in the media poll to finish third behind No. 1 NM State and No. 2 Grand Canyon. The Wolverines received 43 points in the coaches' poll to fall just behind Seattle U in third at 45 points. NM State earned the top spot in the coaches' poll, followed by Grand Canyon in second.

MGM MAIN EVENT MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE BELT
Utah Valley and Long Beach State will play for the MGM Main Event Middleweight championship on Wednesday afternoon at Cox Pavilion. The winner will take home the coveted championship belt. UVU defeated Hartford, 72-75, while Long Beach State downed Iona 86-85 on a buzzer-beating shot to advance to Wednesday's championship game.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Wednesday's MGM Main Event Middleweight championship game against Long Beach State in Las Vegas will be broadcast live at https://bdglobal.inplayer.com/main-event/. Tony Cordasco will be on the call. The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves as Jim McCulloch enters his ninth season as the radio play-by-play personality. Clint Burgi will be handling the color commentary duties on the radio. The radio broadcast will be aired live on ESPN 960AM radio. A live stream of the radio broadcast will also be available at ESPN960Sports.com.

ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE
Long Beach State is a member of the Big West Conference. The Beach is coached by Dan Monson who has led team to three Big West Championships, six top three finishes, three NIT appearances as well as a trip to the 2011-12 NCAA Tournament during his tenure. Long Beach State boasts a six-player senior class, giving LBSU an older roster, but not necessarily one with a ton of experience. Only two of the six seniors (Temidayo Yussuf and Mason Riggins) have spent more than two seasons at the Beach, with the other four transferring in from the junior college ranks. LBSU returns a pair of All-Big West honorees from a season ago. Both Yussuf and senior point guard Deishuan Booker were Honorable Mention All-Big West selections. LBSU holds a 2-3 record this season. The team picked up a buzzer-beating 86-85 win over Iona on Monday afternoon at Cox Pavilion. The Beach has wins over Menlo and Iona and losses on the road to UCLA, Arizona State, and Mississippi State. Booker is the only player averaging double figures as he leads the team in scoring at 15.6 points a game. Senior forward KJ Byers averages 8.8 points a game and leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 6.2 boards a game. LBSU averages 70.6 points per game, while shooting 39.7 percent from he field. The team holds opponents to an 80.4 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. LONG BEACH STATE
Utah Valley and Long Beach State will meet on the basketball hardwood for the first time on Wednesday. The game will mark UVU's 11th game against a team from the Big West Conference. The Wolverines hold an all-time 4-6 mark against teams from the Big West.

TOOLSON'S 23 POINTS LEADS UVU TO 72-65 WIN OVER HARTFORD
Conner Toolson scored a season-high 23 points with seven rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 72-65 win over Hartford at the MGM Main Event at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. The Wolverines now move on to the championship game of the tournament on Wednesday at 3 p.m. (MST).
 
The Wolverines got off to a quick start as the team jumped out to a 12-2 lead just seven minutes into the game. UVU led 20-8 with 7:37 remaining in the first half before Hartford went on a 14-6 run to cut the UVU lead to just four points, 26-22, with 2:30 left in the first. Utah Valley was able to extend the lead back to a 35-27 advantage at the break.
 
Utah Valley opened the second half on an 8-2 run to extend its lead to 16 points, 45-29 with 16:49 left to play. The Hawks responded with a 15-2 run over a five-minute span to cut the UVU lead to just five points, 47-42, with 11:50 remaining. Leading by just four points, 60-56, with 5:28 to play, the Wolverines out scored Hartford 12-9 the rest of the way to secure the
 
Toolson scored his 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-7 clip from beyond the arc. He also knocked down 2-of-3 shots at the free throw line. Toolson also pulled down season-high seven rebounds.
 
Jake Toolson scored 12 points on a 4-of-7 mark from the field, including a pair of threes. He also had three assists. TJ Washington and Baylee Steele were also in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Washington dished out four assists, while Steele pulled down seven boards.

CONNER TOOLSON MOVES UP ON THE CAREER STEALS AND THREE-POINTERS MADE CHARTS
Conner Toolson moved up to sixth on the all-time UVU steals list. He passed up Chris Bailey (2005-07) for the sixth spot and is now just four steals away from the fifth spot on the list, which is occupied by cousin Ryan Toolson (2003-04, 06-09). Holton Hunsaker is UVU's all-time steals leader with 157. Toolson also ranks sixth all-time at UVU on the three-point field goals made chart with 137.

UVU Career Steals Chart
1.    157    Holton Hunsaker, 2010-14
2.    110    Ben Aird, 2010-14
3.    108    Ronnie Price, 2003-05
4.    106    Jordan Swarbrick, 2007-11
5.    100    Ryan Toolson, 2003-04, 06-09
6.    96    Conner Toolson, 2016-pres
7.    94    Chris Bailey, 2005-07
8.    80    Josh Olsen, 2006-09
9.    75    David Heck, 2003-07
10.    73    Pierre Thomas, 2003-06

UVU Career Three-Point FG made
1.    315    Ryan Toolson , 2003-04, 06-09
2.    236    Holton Hunsaker, 2010-14
3.    166    Isiah Williams, 2010-12
4.    161    Ronnie Price, 2003-05
5.    140    David Heck, 2003-07
6.    137    Conner Toolson, 2016-pres
7.    125    Kenneth Ogbe, 2016-18
8.    117    Richard Troyer, 2004-08
9.    92    Jordan Swarbrick, 2007-11
10.    86    Josh Olsen, 2006-09

MAN OF STEELE
Redshirt junior Baylee Steele pulled down a school-record 19 rebounds against BYU on Friday night. Steele's 19 boards breaks the previous single game UVU mark of 18 set by Jon Bell at Florida Gulf Coast on March 5, 2004. Geddes Robinson tied the 18-rebound mark on Jan. 28, 2012 against NJIT. The record stood for 14 years before Steele broke it on Nov. 9, 2018 at BYU. Steele is averaging team-best 9.3 rebounds per game this season.

UVU Single-Game Rebounds Record
1.    19    Baylee Steele    at BYU, 11/9/18
2.    18    Jon Bell    at Florida Gulf Coast, 3/5/04
        18    Geddes Robinson    vs. NJIT, 1/28/12
4.    17    Jordan Brady    vs. CSU Bakersfield, 3/1/08
        17    Geddes Robinson    at North Dakota, 1/20/11
        17    Geddes Robinson    vs. Georgia State, 12/17/11
 
UVU HOLDS NATIONS'S FIFTH-BEST ACTIVE HOME WIN STREAK IN THE NATION
Utah Valley won a school-record 16 games at home last season, finishing the 2017-18 campaign with a school-record 16-1 record at home, surpassing the previous record of 14-1 set by the 2006-07 team. Utah Valley currently owns the nation's fifth-longest active home win streak in the nation at 15 games. The Wolverines look to extend their win streak against North Dakota on Nov. 24.

Longest Active Home Win Streaks in the Nation
1.    South Dakota    23
2.    Charleston    18
3.    Montana    18
4.    Houston    17
5.    Utah Valley    15
6.    Nebraska    14
7.    Buffalo    13
T8.    Tennessee    11
T8.    LSU    11
T8.    UNC Greensboro    11