Utah Valley (20-8, 9-3) at Grand Canyon (18-10, 7-5)
Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018  |  7 p.m. MST
Phoenix, Ariz.  |  GCU Arena (7,000)
Complete Utah Valley Game Notes (PDF)

GAME INFORMATION
TV: ESPN3 / GCU.tv (Barry Buetel/Scott Williams)
Live Video: WatchESPN.com
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch/Josh Kallunki)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: GoRunners.com
 

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OPENING TIP
Utah Valley picked up its 20th win of the season with a 70-47 road win at CSU Bakersfield on Thursday night. The win marks the third-straight victory for the Wolverines, who took over sole possession of second place in the WAC standings. UVU continues road play at Grand Canyon on Saturday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (MST).

Conner Toolson poured in 22 points on a 5-of-8 clip from distance to lead Utah Valley University to its 20th win of the season in a 70-47 victory over CSU Bakersfield at the Icardo Center on Thursday night. Toolson's 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting from distance led the Wolverines on the night and he added three rebounds, one assist, one block and three steals. Kenneth Ogbe added 14 points on four made threes to go along with three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Akolda Manyang came off the bench to score 11 points, grab three rebounds and block four shots.

Jake Toolson was named the WAC's Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 12-18. Toolson averaged 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals in a pair of wins last week to move the Wolverines into a tie for second place in the WAC standings, one game out of first place. Toolson opened the week with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists in Utah Valley's 86-79 win over NM State. The win snapped the Aggies' 11-game win streak and handed them their first loss in WAC play this season. He knocked down 5-of-6 shots from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range. He also hit 2-of-2 free throws. In Saturday's win over UT Rio Grande Valley, Toolson scored 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists, one block and a steal. On the week, Toolson shot 73.3 percent from the field, 60 percent from three-point range, and was perfect from the free throw line.

Utah Valley earned its 20th win of the season with its 70-47 win at CSU Bakersfield on Thursday night. The win marks the highest win total of head coach Mark Pope's tenure at Utah Valley, improving upon last season's win total of 17. It marks the fifth time in school history that a team has won 20 or more wins. The last time UVU won 20 games was during the 2013-14 season when the Wolverines finished the season with a 20-12 . The most wins in UVU's Division I era with a full Division I schedule came during the 2006-07 season when the team won 22 games.

Utah Valley is tied for the sixth-longest current home win streak in the nation at 12 games. South Dakota State holds the nation's longest current home win streak at 20 games, followed by Texas Tech at 17 games in a row. Utah Valley improved to 14-1 at home this season with its wins over NM State and UT Rio Grande Valley on Feb. 15 and 17, respectively. The 14 wins matches the Utah Valley single-season record for home wins in a season with the 2006-07 team which went 14-1 and the 2011-12 team that finished the season with a 14-2 mark at home. With one home game remaining on the schedule, the Wolverines have a chance to secure the best home record in team history.

Utah Valley has five players averaging double figures. Kenneth Ogbe leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game. Akolda Manyang ranks second on the team at 13.3 points per game. Conner Toolson is third at 12.4 points a contest. Jake Toolson averages 12.0 points, followed by Brandon Randolph at 10.9.

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 15 of 18 games since the loss at Duke.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday night's game at Grand Canyon will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and GCU.tv. Barry Buetel and Scott Williams 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 GRAND CANYON
Grand Canyon enters Thursday night's game with a 18-10 overall record. The team is in fourth place in the WAC standings with a 7-5 mark. The team snapped a three-game skid with a 76-64 win over Seattle U at home on Thursday night. Prior to Thursday's win, Grand Canyon had dropped three-straight road games at UTRGV, New Mexico State, and CSU Bakersfield. GCU holds a 14-2 record at home this season with its only blemishes being a 72-62 setback to San Diego and a 70-59 loss to New Mexico State. Senior guard Josh Braun leads the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game. Freshman forward Alessandro Lever also averages double figures at 10.8 points per game. Senior forward Keonta Vernon leads the team on the boards, pulling down 6.9 rebounds a contest. Grand Canyon is one of the top defensive teams in the nation, limiting opponents to just 64.4 points per game. The team leads the nation in three-point field goal perentage defense, limiting opponents to just a 27.3 percent mark from beyond the arc. The team also ranks 12th nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to just a 39.7 percent clip. The 'Lopes average 74.6 points per game on a 43.1 percent mark.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GRAND CANYON
Utah Valley and Grand Canyon meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 11th time on Saturday night. The 'Lopes hold an all-time 6-4 advantage in the series. Utah Valley snapped a six-game skid against the Antelopes with a 68-56 win earlier this season on Jan. 27 in Orem. GCU holds an all-time 3-1 advantage over UVU in games played at GCU Arena. Utah Valley's last win over the 'Lopes in Phoenix was a 79-68 victory on Feb. 6, 2014.

All-Time Results vs. Grand Canyon (GCU leads 6-4)
Jan. 27, 2018    Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 68-56    Orem, Utah
Feb. 18, 2017    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 77-71    Orem, Utah
Jan. 07, 2017    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 82-72    Phoenix, Arizona
Mar. 05, 2016    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 86-79    Orem, Utah
Jan. 16, 2016    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 99-88    Phoenix, Arizona
Feb. 14, 2015    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 83-57    Phoenix, Arizona
Jan. 15, 2015    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 83-74    Orem, Utah
Feb. 06, 2014    Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 79-68    Phoenix, Arizona
Jan. 11, 2014    Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 65-58    Orem, Utah
Feb. 15, 2005    Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 71-49    Orem, Utah