UVU OPENS WAC PLAY AT GRAND CANYON ON THURSDAY NIGHT
After wrapping up non-conference play with its best non-league record in school history at 11-4 (.733), Utah Valley now heads into Western Athletic Conference play at Grand Canyon on Thursday night in Phoenix, Arizona. Tip-off at GCU Arena is set for 6 p.m. (MST).

Utah Valley closed out non-league play last week with one of its best wins of the season in a 64-60 victory at Fresno State on Saturday. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 65 in the KenPom.com rankings at the time of UVU's win. Prior to the win at Fresno State, Weber State (164) was the highest ranked win of the season for the Wolverines and for the WAC.

Utah Valley has won 10 of its last 11 games, including five straight. The Wolverines picked up their first-ever win against a team from the Mountain West Conference, defeating Fresno State 64-60 on Saturday. UVU also recently picked up its first-ever road win over in-state foe Weber State in Ogden on Dec. 15. The lone setback over UVU's last 11 games was an 80-69 loss at Pac-12 foe Arizona on Dec. 8.

Jake Toolson leads Utah Valley in scoring at 15.9 points per game, followed closely behind by Conner Toolson at 14.2 points a contest. The Toolson duo has scored nearly 40 percent of UVU's points this season. Jake has been impressive from the floor, shooting 58.1 percent (86-of-148), including a team-best 50 percent (29-of-58) clip from three-point range. Baylee Steele leads UVU on the boards, pulling down 7.3 rebounds a game, while TJ Washington leads the team in assists at 4.2 a game.

Utah Valley ranks in the top-50 in four statistical team categories and three individual category. The Wolverines rank 25th in the nation in total rebounds with 556. The team also ranks 36th in defensive rebounds per game (28.67) and 46th in field-goal percentage (48.4). The Wolverines rank 47th nationally in total assists with 217. Jake Toolson ranks 37th in the country in minutes played (497:02). Toolson also ranks 45th in the nation in field goal percentage with a 58.1 percent clip. Conner Toolson ranks 50th in the country in steals with 26.

Utah Valley holds the nation's third-longest active home win streak in the nation at 20 games. The Wolverines sit in third behind Houston (26) and Charleston (22).

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's game at Grand Canyon will be broadcast live on ESPN3 (ESPN.com/Watch) and GCU.tv. Barry Buetel and Scott Williams will be on the call, while Kate Longworth will be on the sidelines. The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves as Jim McCulloch enters his ninth season as the radio play-by-play personality. Jason Erickson 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 GRAND CANYON
Grand Canyon enters Saturday's game with a 7-6 overall record under sixth-year head coach Dan Majerle. The Antelopes have won two of their last three games and wrapped up non-conference play with a 61-58 setback at San Diego on Saturday night. GCU holds a perfect 5-0 record at home this season. GCU's last loss at home was a 78-73 setback to Mercer in the first round of last season's College Basketball Invitational on March 14. Dating back to 2017, the Lopes have won 17 of their last 19 games at GCU Arena. Preseason WAC Player of the Year Alessandro Lever leads the team in both scoring and rebounding. The sophomore center averages 14.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Lever is one of 20 players named to the watch list for the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, The annual honor recognizes the top centers in men's college basketball. Junior guard Carlos Johnson also averages double figures at 10.5 points a game. As a team, Grand Canyon is averaging 74.54 points a game while limiting opponents to a 70.0 points per game average. The 'Lopes are shooting 44.4 percent from the floor, including a 31.1 percent mark from three-point range.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GRAND CANYON
Utah Valley and Grand Canyon meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 13th time on Thursday night. The 'Lopes hold an all-time 8-4 advantage in the series. Utah Valley snapped a six-game skid against the Antelopes last season with a 68-56 win on Jan. 27, 2018 in Orem. GCU then won the next two as the Antelopes took a 60-59 win in Phoenix before taking a 75-60 victory over UVU in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas. UVU holds an all-time 1-4 record against GCU in Phoenix. The lone victory in the Grand Canyon State was a 79-68 win on Feb. 6, 2014.

All-Time Results vs. Grand Canyon (GCU leads 8-4)
Mar. 09, 2018    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 75-60    Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb. 24, 2018    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 60-59    Phoenix, Arizona
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

LAST TIME VS. GRAND CANYON (March 9 - WAC Tournament Semis - Las Vegas)
Utah Valley fell behind by 18 early before storming back to make it a four-point game, but eventually fell to Grand Canyon, 75-60, in the semifinals of the WAC tournament on March 9, 2018 at Orleans Arena.
 
Despite the loss, the Wolverines outscored GCU in the paint 36-26. Utah Valley also grabbed eight steals to Grand Canyon's four and scored 12 second-chance points while holding GCU to nine.

The game began with a fast pace as Grand Canyon jumped out to an early 9-4 lead with Utah Valley struggling to find its stroke from the field to open things up. Jerrelle DeBerry then came off the bench after the first media timeout and put together a three-point play for the Wolverines. The Antelopes answered with four-consecutive 3-pointers.
 
By the time a DeBerry layup ended GCU's run, the Lopes had built an 18-point lead. DeBerry would then knock down a three on the next possession. UVU continued trying to chip away, and an alley-oop from Brandon Randolph to Akolda Manyang gave it some energy.
 
A late 9-4 burst from the Wolverines trimmed the deficit down to 12, but Grand Canyon carried a 41-27 lead into halftime. DeBerry's eight points led Utah Valley in the first half while Manyang and Kenneth Ogbe added six apiece. Zach Nelson also came off the bench to pull down six rebounds in the half. The Lopes knocked down 54.8 percent of their shots for the half, including a 62.5 percent clip from distance.
 
Manyang opened the second half for UVU by throwing down a dunk and laying in another basket, but GCU continued to hit shots and hold its lead. At the 15-minute mark the Wolverines were finally able to string together a run and dropped in 10-straight points to make it a seven-point game. The Lopes put in a couple of baskets, but Utah Valley continued to grind away and a Manyang layup narrowed to margin to four.
 
Grand Canyon was able to claim some breathing room with three makes from the charity stripe as its lead grew back to seven. The Lopes then turned their momentum into a 9-3 spurt and extended the margin to nine points heading into the final media timeout of the game. Utah Valley got the deficit down to eight multiple times but was unable to draw any closer as time expired.
 
Manyang led the way for the Wolverines on an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double, his seventh of the season. Ogbe added 12 points to go with five rebounds, an assist and two steals. Randolph was the final Wolverine in double figures with 10 points, a rebound and two assists. DeBerry added eight points and three rebounds off the bench.

UVU RECORDS BEST NON-CONFERENCE RECORD IN SCHOOL HISTORY, TIES BEST 15-GAME START TO A SEASON
The Wolverines wrapped up non-conference play with an 11-4 record (.733), which is the best non-league mark in school history. The 11-4 record matches the 15-game start to the 2003-04 team, but that team did not play a full Division I schedule and did not yet have a conference to play in. The 11-4 record also matches last year's 15-game start to a season (11-4). Last year's team entered WAC play with an 11-5 record (.687).

UTAH VALLEY WRAPS UP NON-CONFERENCE PLAY WITH 64-60 ROAD WIN AT FRESNO STATE
Jake Toolson poured in 15 points as Utah Valley fended off Fresno State down the stretch to defeat the Bulldogs, 64-60, on Saturday evening at the Save Mart Center. The Wolverines finish nonconference play on a five-game winning streak and push their record to 11-4. The Bulldogs wrap up their non-conference slate at 9-3 as the team suffers its first loss of the season at home.

Utah Valley used an 8-1 run to take an 11-6 advantage with 16:17 to go in the opening half before Fresno State responded with a 9-0 run. After exchanging baskets, the Wolverines went on a 9-0 run to take a 22-17 lead with 5:12 to go in the half. Wyatt Lowell hit a three with under a minute to go to push the lead to six but the Bulldogs scored the final five points of the half to trim the Wolverine lead to 33-32 at the half.
 
After Fresno State momentarily took the lead, the Wolverines used an 11-3 run to extend their lead to 51-43 with 10:43 to go in the game.  As the game went back-and-forth, the Bulldogs used a late 8-0 run to tie the game up at 59 a piece with 1:59 to go. TJ Washington converted the go-ahead basket on a driving layup and the Wolverines would lead the rest of the way. Baylee Steele slammed home the exclamation point off a pass ahead from Toolson to seal the game.
 
Utah Valley shot 46.2 percent from the field while holding Fresno State to a season-low 34 percent. The 60 points scored by the Bulldogs is also a season low. The Wolverines dominated the paint, outscoring the home team 40-14. Ben Nakwaasah and Conner Toolson led UVU with six rebounds apiece, while Isaiah White added three steals.

THREE-POINT STREAKING
Utah Valley has now hit a three-point field goal in 122 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.

WAC OPENERS
Utah Valley holds an all-time 2-2 record in WAC openers. The Wolverines are 1-1 all-time when opening the WAC season on the road. UVU opened the WAC season at Grand Canyon in 2017, falling 82-72. The Wolverines won last year's WAC opener at home over CSU Bakersfield, 75-42.

UVU ONCE AGAIN RECEIVING VOTES IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM POLL
For the second straight week, Utah Valley is receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll. UVU received five points last week and is now receiving two points in this week's poll despite the team picking up its best win of the season at Fresno State.

THIRD-BEST NCAA RANKING IN THE WAC
As of Jan. 2, Utah Valley's NCAA net rating is 135 according to NCAAsports.com. UVU sits a spot ahead of Marshall at 136 and seven spots ahead of Utah at 142. The Wolverines have one of the best non-conference NCAA net rating wins of the season with its victory over No. 67 Fresno State.  The Wolverines hold the third-best net rating in the WAC as the team sits behind New Mexico State (85) and Seattle U (134). UVU is ahead of Grand Canyon (149), California Baptist (185), CSU Bakersfield (203), UMKC (235), UTRGV (251), and Chicago State (345).

WAC'S CONFERENCE RPI IS #16 OUT OF 32
The WAC's conference RPI currently sits at No. 16, just one spot behind the Mountain West Conference at 15. The WAC sits ahead of the Sun Belt (17), Horizon (18), Colonial (19), Atlantic Sun (20), Ohio Valley (21), Big West (22), Patriot (23), Northeast (24), and Big Sky (25).

CONNER TOOLSON BECOMES EIGHTH PLAYER IN UVU HISTORY TO SCORE 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Conner Toolson knocked down a shot from long range with 14:38 remaining in the second half against Sam Houston State on Dec. 22 to lift his career point total to 1,002 points as he became just the eighth player in UVU history to score 1,000 career points. Toolson scored 18 points on the night to up his career total to 1,007. He now has 1,016 points.

UVU Career Points Chart
1.    2163    Ryan Toolson (113 games), 2003-04, 06-09
2.    1545    Holton Hunsaker (126 games), 2010-14
3.    1516    Ben Aird (124 games), 2010-14
4.    1245    Ronnie Price (56 games), 2003-05
5.    1078    David Heck (111 games), 2003-07
6.    1066    Isaiah Williams (63 games), 2010-12
7.    1016    Conner Toolson (79 games), 2016-19
8.    1001    Zach Nelson (119 games), 2010-11, 13-15, 16-18
9.    992    Jordan Swarbrick (110 games), 2007-11
10.    802    Kenneth Ogbe (66 games), 2016-18

JAKE TOOLSON'S RECORDS TWO PERFECT GAMES THIS SEASON
Redshirt junior guard Jake Toolson has recorded a pair of perfect shooting performances this season. Toolson knocked down a perfect 8-of-8 shots from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point range, along with a perfect 2-of-2 shots from the free throw line as he scored 20 points in an 87-72 win over Long Beach State in the championship game of the MGM Main Event in Las Vegas on Nov. 21. Toolson also connected on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field, including a 2-of-2 mark from long range. He also hit a perfect 6-of-6 shots at the free throw line as he finished with 20 points in an 85-79 win over Sam Houston State on Dec. 22.
 
MACDOUGALL RECORDS BEST SINGLE-GAME SHOOTING PERFORMANCE IN UVU HISTORY, 2ND BEST MARK IN THE NATION THIS SEASON.... JAKE TOOLSON TIES TOP FG % MARK
Connor MacDougall had the best single game shooting performance in UVU history against Idaho State on Dec. 19 as he knocked down a perfect 12-of-12 shots from the floor. The 12-for-12 shooting overtakes Mitch Bruneel and Jake Toolson who previously held the field goal mark in an 8-for-8 performances. MacDougall's mark is the second-best shooting performance in the country behind only Levi Bradley of Northern Illinois, who made a perfect 13-of-13 shots against Oakland on Nov. 25. MacDougall's perfect night ties him for the best single-game field goal percentage mark in UVU history with Bruneel and Toolson.

UVU RECORDS THIRD-BEST THREE-POINT SHOOTING PERFORMANCE IN SCHOOL HISTORY -- 14TH-BEST SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCE IN NATION THIS SEASON
Utah Valley connected on 62.5 percent of its threes in a 98-78 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 and the 14th-best three-point shooting performance in the nation this season. The three-point shooting performance at NAU is tied for the 14th-best shooting percentage 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 TO SECOND ON CAREER ASSISTS CHART, FOURTH ON CAREER THREES LIST
Conner Toolson is now all alone in second on the all-time UVU steals list with 114 take aways. He is now just 43 steals away from tying Holton Hunsaker (2010-14) for the top spot on the steals chart. He ranks fourth on the made threes list with 164 and is just two 3-pointers away from tying Isiah Williams (2010-12) for third on that chart.

UVU TIED FOR THE FOURTH-LONGEST ACTIVE HOME WIN STREAK IN THE NATION, LONGEST STREAK IN UVU HISTORY
Utah Valley has won a school-record 20 straight games at home dating back to last season. The last loss at home was an 85-58 setback to BYU on Nov. 29, 2018. Since that time the Wolverines have won 20 straight at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines 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 has the third-longest active home win streak in the nation at 20 games behind Houston (25) and Charleston (22).  The previous UVU home win streak record was 17 games, which was set from the 2004-05 season to the 2005-06 season.

Longest Active Home Win Streaks in the Nation
1.    Houston    26    
2.    Charleston    22
3.    Utah Valley    20
4.    Montana    19
5.    Nebraska    19
5.    Buffalo    17
6.    UNC Greensboro    17
7.    Tennessee    16
7.    Murray State    16
8.    Michigan    15
8.    LSU    15

UCCU CENTER RANKED 10TH-BEST HOME COURT ADVANTAGE IN AMERICA ACCORDING TO KENPOM.COM
Utah Valley holds an all-time 173-46 (78 percent) record in 13 seasons at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines are averaging 12.5 wins a season on thier home hardwood. UVU finished play at home last season with a school-record 16-1 record. The team holds the nation's third-longest active home win streak in the country at 20 games. According to KenPom.com, UVU holds the nation's 10th-best home court advantage. Colorado holds the best home court advantage, followed by Iowa State, Air Force, Arkansas, Illinois State, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech, Iowa, and Utah Valley.