UTAH VALLEY TRAVELS TO PLAY IN-STATE RIVAL WEBER STATE ON SATURDAY NIGHT IN OGDEN
Utah Valley will play its final game of a three-game road stretch as the team travels north on I-15 to take on in-state rival Weber State on Saturday night at the Dee Events Center in Ogden. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Utah Valley split a two-game road trip to the Grand Canyon State last week. The Wolverines dropped an 80-69 decision at Arizona before rebounding to take down Northern Arizona, 98-78. The win at Northern Arizona marked the Wolverines' first true road win of the season.

Utah Valley was unable to hold on to a 12-point halftime lead at Arizona as the Wolverines eventually fell 80-69 at Arizona. Jake Toolson led UVU with 20 points, while Conner Toolson and TJ Washington were also in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. UVU used a season-high 15 threes to defeat Northern Arizona, 98-78, in Flagstaff. Isaiah White led the Wolverines with a career-high 19 points against NAU. Wyatt Lowell helped with 12 points on four three-pointers, while Conner Toolson chipped in 16. Connor MacDougall and Washington each has 10 points in the win.

Jake Toolson leads Utah Valley in scoring at 15.2 points per game, followed closely behind by Conner Toolson at 15.1 points a contest. The Toolson duo has scored nearly 40 percent of UVU's points this season. Jake holds the best shooting percentage on the team at 56.0 percent (61-of-109), including the top three-point percentage on the team at 48.9 percent (23-of-47). Baylee Steele leads UVU on the boards, pulling down 8.2 rebounds a game.

Utah Valley ranks in the top-50 in four statistical team categories and two individual categories. The Wolverines rank 21st in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 39.8 percent. The team also ranks 26th nationally three-point field goals made (100), 34th in total rebounds (412), and 41st in defensive rebounds per game (28.91). Individually, Baylee Steele holds the highest national ranking as he is 39th in total rebounds with 90. TJ Washington ranks 48th in assists with 51.

Utah Valley is currently tied for the fourth-longest active home win streak in the nation at 18 games. UVU's next home game is set for Wednesday, Dec. 19 against Idaho State.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday night's game at Weber State will be broadcast live on KJZZ television (channel 14 in Utah). Dave Fox and former Wildcat Lance Allred will be on the call. Saturday's game will be streamed live on Pluto.tv (235). The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves on ESPN960 AM as Jim McCulloch enters his ninth season as the radio play-by-play personality. Josh Kallunki will be handling the color commentary duties on the radio. A live stream of the radio broadcast will also be available at ESPN960Sports.com.

ABOUT WEBER STATE
Weber State enters Saturday's game with a 5-4 overall record. The team has lost its last two games, including setbacks at Fresno State (Dec. 5) and against Utah State (Dec. 8). The team most recently dropped a 76-67 palindromic setback to Utah State in the Beehive Classic at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake. Four Wildcats scored in double figures against USU, led by Cody John who finished with 16 points. Freshman guard Caleb Nero scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in 19 minutes of action. Senior forward center Zach Braxton added 14 points and eight rebounds and senior forward Brekkott Chapman had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Wildcats against the Aggies. Junior guard Jerrick Harding leads Weber State in scoring at 20.7 points a contest. Junior guard Cody John and Braxton also average double figures at 16.9 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. Braxton leads the team on the boards, pulling down 7.9 rebounds a game. As a team, Weber State averages 83.4 points a game, while holding opponents to a 74.2 points per game average. The team averages nearly eight three-point field goals a game led by senior forward Brekkott Chapman's 39 this season.

SERIES HISTORY VS. WEBER STATE, BIG SKY
Utah Valley and Weber State meet on the basketball hardwood for the 12th time on Saturday night. Weber State holds an all-time 6-5 edge in the series. Utah Valley defeated Weber State, 83-56, in the most previous meeting last season in Orem. Neither team has ever won on the opposing team's home floor with Utah Valley owning an all-time 5-0 record in games played in Orem and Weber State holding a 6-0 mark against the Wolverines in Ogden. The last time the two teams met in Ogden was on Dec. 17, 2016 with Weber State taking a 93-85 win. Utah Valley holds an all-time 24-25 record against teams from the Big Sky Conference.

All-Time Results vs. Weber State (WSU leads series 6-5)
Nov. 19, 2004    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 59-51        Ogden, Utah
Dec. 20, 2004    Utah Valley def. Weber State, 71-58        Orem, Utah
Dec. 06, 2005    Utah Valley def. Weber State, 68-49        Orem, Utah
Dec. 28, 2005    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 69-62        Ogden, Utah
Mar. 13, 2012    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 72-69        Ogden, Utah
Dec. 05, 2012    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 89-56        Ogden, Utah
Dec. 11, 2013    Utah Valley def. Weber State, 62-59        Orem, Utah
Dec. 20, 2014    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 73-61        Ogden, Utah
Dec. 09, 2015    Utah Valley def. Weber State, 84-81        Orem, Utah
Dec. 17, 2016    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 93-85        Ogden, Utah
Dec. 06, 2017    Utah Valley def. Weber State, 83-56        Orem, Utah

LAST TIME VS. WEBER STATE (Dec. 6, 2017 - UCCU Center - Orem, UT)
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 Dec. 6, 2017 at the UCCU Center.

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.
 
The Wolverine offense got rolling early with a 14-2 run to open the game. Conner Toolson hit a three and Manyang blocked two shots on the defensive end to spark the run. Utah Valley was unable to grow its lead to more than 12, and Weber State used an 11-0 run to eventually tie the score at 18-18. Jake Toolson helped UVU recover from the Wildcats' run by scoring four-straight points to put the Wolverines back on top. A 16-2 run, led by back-to-back dunks from Manyang, earned Utah Valley some separation at the end of the opening half as it took a 43-29 lead into the locker room. A three from Kenneth Ogbe with only two seconds remaining gave UVU its largest lead of the half at 14. Consecutive threes from Conner Toolson and Brandon Randolph to open the second half pushed Utah Valley's lead to 20. Back-to-back dunks from Manyang and Ogbe helped UVU maintain its big lead.
 
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.

WOLVERINES KNOCK DOWN 15 THREES TO PICK UP FIRST ROAD VICTORY OF THE SEASON IN 98-78 ROUT OF NORTHERN ARIZONA
Utah Valley knocked down 15 threes in a 98-78 rout of Northern Arizona on Saturday at Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz. The win pushes the Wolverines to a 7-4 record on the season and drops the Lumberjacks to 2-5 on the year.

After a slow start, Northern Arizona jumped out to a 27-20 lead before Utah Valley responded with a 12-0 run, powered by Isaiah White and Connor MacDougall, to pull the Wolverine's ahead 32-27. After trading free throws, the Lumberjacks went on a 7-0 spurt to tie the game up at 39 a piece. Wyatt Lowell then hit two threes in the final minutes of the first half, including one with 13 seconds left in the half, to put Utah Valley up 47-44 at the half.
 
The Wolverines started the second half on a 6-0 run to make it 53-44 with 17:39 to go in the game and the Lumberjacks would never come closer than six points. The teams traded buckets before Utah Valley went on a 22-5 run to take control of the game with a 90-65 lead with 6:10 to go in the game. The Wolverines would never be challenged again and tied a season high in points with 98 for the game.
 
Utah Valley shot just under 60 percent for the game, including a blistering 62.5 percent from deep and 84.6 percent from the foul line. The Wolverines were also able to win the battle on the boards, taking a 34-27 edge in rebounds. As a team, Utah Valley also had a season low seven turnovers. TJ Washington finished with an impressive seven assists to one turnover on the night.
 
White led Utah Valley with 19 points on 6-8 from the field, including a perfect 4-4 from the striped and 3 of 4 from behind the three-point line. Lowell snapped out of a shooting slump and finished with 12 points on 4-5 from behind the arc. The Wolverines had five players in double figures as Conner Toolson chipped in 16 points and MacDougall and Washington joined White and Lowell with ten points or more.
 
UVU'S UPSET BID COMES UP SHORT IN 80-69 LOSS AT ARIZONA
Utah Valley was unable to hold on to a 12-point halftime lead in an 80-69 loss to Arizona at the McKale Center on Thursday night in Tucson. The loss drops the Wolverines to 6-4 on the season, snapping their five-game winning streak. The Wildcats pushed their record to 7-2 on the year and extended their non-conference home winning streak to 52 games.

The first half began with runs by each team as Utah Valley rushed out to a 7-2 lead over the first minute of the game before Arizona answered with an 8-0 run of their own to make it 7-10. The teams traded before the Wolverines used a 21-4 run to push their lead to 32-22 with 5:48 to go in the half. The Wolverines dominated the paint and took advantage of several Wildcat turnovers during the opening period. Utah Valley finished scored the final five points of the half to take a 41-29 advantage into the break.
 
Arizona started the second half on a 16-2 run to take a 45-43 lead with 16:49 to go in the game. After trading baskets, the Wildcats used a 26-7 spurt to take a 76-62 lead with 2:48 left in the contest. Arizona got hot in the second half, making eight threes while shooting over 60 percent from the floor. The Wildcats also took advantage of six Wolverine turnovers in the second half, turning them into 11 points.
 
After shooting 50 percent from the floor in the opening half, Utah Valley cooled off, making just one of eight shots from beyond the arc and shooting just 31.8 percent from the field. The Wolverines were out-rebounded 36-26 but still managed to hold a 32-28 edge in points in the paint. Utah Valley converted 16 Wildcat turnovers into 24 points and led for over 20 minutes of the game but were unable to finish off the upset.

Jake Toolson led the Wolverines with 20 points on 6-11 shooting from the field, including a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe, to go along with a team-high 8 rebounds. Conner Toolson and TJ Washington were also in double figures, finishing with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

UVU RECORDS THIRD-BEST THREE-POINT SHOOTING PERFORMANCE IN SCHOOL HISTORY -- 11TH-BEST SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCE IN NATION THIS SEASON
Utah Valley connected on 62.5 percent of its threes in a win at Northern Arizona on Dec. 8 in Flagstaff. The Wolverines knocked down 15-of-24 shots from beyond the arc. The 62.5 percent shooting is the third-best three-point shooting percentage in school history. The three-point shooting performance at NAU is tied for the 11th-best mark in the nation this season. UVU shot 66.7 percent twice in wins over Haskell (1/4/11) and against UTRGV (3/13/14). The 15 threes is tied for the fourth-best total in UVU history. The Wolverines knocked down a school-record 18 threes in a win at BYU (11/26/16) two seasons ago.

CONNER TOOLSON MOVES UP ON THE CAREER LISTS
Conner Toolson is now all alone in fourth on the all-time UVU steals list with 107 take aways. He is now just one steals away from tying UVU great Ronnie Price (2003-05) for the third spot on the steals chart. He ranks fifth on the made threes list with 158 and is just three threes away from tying Price for fourth on that chart. Toolson ranks ninth on UVU's all-time scoring list with 969 points. He needs just 31 points to become just the eighth player in UVU history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Utah Valley ranks in the top-50 in four statistical team categories and two individual categories. The Wolverines rank 21st in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 39.8 percent. The team also ranks 26th nationally three-point field goals made (100), 34th in total rebounds (412), and 41st in defensive rebounds per game (28.91). Individually, Baylee Steele holds the highest national ranking as he is 39th in total rebounds with 90. TJ Washington ranks 48th in assists with 51.

UVU TIED FOR THE THIRD-LONGEST ACTIVE HOME WIN STREAK IN THE NATION, LONGEST STREAK IN UVU HISTORY
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 is tied with Montana for the nation's fourth-longest active home win streak in the nation at 18 games behind South Dakota State (25), Houston (21), and Charleston (20). The Wolverines look to extend their win streak to 19 games on Dec. 19 against Idaho State. The previous UVU home win streak record was 17 games, which was set from the 2004-05 season to the 2005-06 season.