UVU WRAPS UP BBN SHOWCASE PLAY AT MOUNT ST. MARY'S
Utah Valley will play its fourth road game in its last five contests as the team travels to Emmitsburg, Maryland for a first-ever matchup against Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday night at Knott Arena. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. (MT)
TJ Washington scored a career-high 26 points and
Brandon Averette added 16 to lead the Wolverines past North Dakota State on the road, 68-62, on Saturday afternoon evening in Fargo. Washington finished the game 12-of-17 from the field to go along with a career-high nine rebounds. Along with Averette's 16 points,
Trey Woodbury and Jardine each chipped in nine points.
Utah Valley ranks third in the nation in blocks with 45. The Wolverines also rank 12th nationally in blocks per game at 6.4 a contest. Individually,
Emmanuel Olojakpoke is tied for sixth nationally with 21 blocks. He also ranks 17th in blocks per game at 3.0.
With its loss to Lamar at the UCCU Center on Thursday night, Utah Valley's home win streak came to an end at eight games. The eight-game home win streak was the nation's 11th-longest home win streak in the nation. UVU has won 33 of its last 36 games at home.
Utah Valley senior guard
TJ Washington has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Nov. 18-24. The award is his first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor. Washington averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last week. He opened the week with a then career-high 22 points as he led Utah Valley's comeback from 16 points down at No. 9 Kentucky to cut the lead to just one point, 67-68, with 3:26 to go before eventually falling 74-68. Washington also added five rebounds and five assists against the Wildcats. He then scored 10 points with three rebounds and two assists in a loss to Lamar last Thursday. He capped the week by scoring a career-high 26 points in a 68-62 road win at North Dakota State in the Summit League/WAC Challenge. He also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in the victory.
Utah Valley returns just two starters and letterwinners from last year's squad that finished the season with a school-record 25 wins and a third-straight appearance at the College Basketball Invitational. Returning starters
Isaiah White and
TJ Washington are back after combining to score an average of 16.2 points per game last season. The Wolverines return just 21 percent of its scoring from a season ago. Utah Valley welcomes 10 new players to its roster this season, including
Brandon Averette,
Casdon Jardine, and
Cavit Ege Havsa, who each had to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. The Wolverines have added five new transfers (JJ Overton,
Emmanuel Olojakpoke,
Brandon Morley,
Trey Woodbury) to this year's roster.
Fardaws Aimaq (Mercer) also joins the team but will have to sit out and redshirt this season. UVU welcomes two true freshmen to the team in
Travis Wagstaff and
Lewis Johnson.
Mark Madsen enters his first season as the head coach of the Wolverines. The two-time NBA champion, former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, and former Stanford University basketball star makes his debut season as a head coach. He is just the third head coach in UVU's Division I history. Madsen takes over the Utah Valley program after serving the past six seasons as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a two-time NBA champion as a player with the Lakers (2001 and 2002), and he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves for six seasons.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Tuesday night's game at Mount St. Mary's will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row, which is available at www.necfrontrow.com. Adam Pohl will be on the call. The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves as Jim McCulloch enters his 10th season as the Voice of the Wolverines.
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 MOUNT ST. MARY'S
Mount St. Mary's is a member of the Northeast Conference and is located in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The team enters Tuesday night's game with a 1-5 overall record. The team's losses have come to Georgetown, Washington, Lamar, UAB, and Kentucky. MSM's win was a 75-58 win over Gettysburg on Nov. 9--the team's lone home game of the season so far. The Mount holds the nation's 12th-toughest schedule in the nation. Mount St. Mary's most recently dropped an 82-62 decision at No 9 Kentucky on Friday night. Sophomore guard Damain Chong Qui led four Mount players in double figures with 11 points at Kentucky. Junior guard Jalen Gibbs leads the Mount in scoring at 13.0 points per game while sophomore guard Vado Morse, who missed the Kentucky game due to injury, is averaging 12.2 points. Sophomore forward Malik Jefferson is averaging 8.7 points and a team-best 8.2 rebounds while Chong Qui is averaging 8.3 points and a team-best 3.0 assists per contest.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MOUNT ST. MARY'S, NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Tuesday's game at Mount St. Mary's will mark the first time the two schools have met on the basketball hardwood. The game will also be the first time that Utah Valley has taken on a team from the Northeast Conference.
UTAH VALLEY WINS SUMMIT LEAGUE/WAC CHALLENGE GAME FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT SEASON
With its 68-62 win at North Dakota State on Nov. 23, Utah Valley claimed a win in the Summit League/WAC Challenge for a second straight season. Utah Valley defeated Denver in last season's Summit League/WAC Challenge matchup. The WAC won the first-ever Summit League/WAC Challenge by finishing with a 6-3 record against the Summit League last season. This seasons event is tied 1-1.
2019-20 Summit League/WAC Challenge Games
Nov. 9 South Dakota State at CSU Bakersfield L, 91-93 (2OT)
Nov. 23 Utah Valley at North Dakota State W, 66-62
Nov. 27 South Dakota at California Baptist 7 p.m. PT
Nov. 30 Western Illinois at Kansas City 7 p.m. CT
Nov. 30 Fort Wayne at Grand Canyon 6 p.m. MT
Dec. 10 NM State at Denver 7 p.m. MT
Dec. 15 UT Rio Grande Valley at Omaha 12:30 p.m. CT
Dec. 17 Oral Roberts at Chicago State 7 p.m. CT
WASHINGTON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley senior guard
TJ Washington has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Nov. 18-24. This is his first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor. The Tulsa, Okla. native averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last week. He opened the week with a then career-high 22 points as he led Utah Valley's comeback from 16 points down at No. 9 Kentucky to cut the lead to just one point, 67-68, with 3:26 to go before eventually falling 74-68. Washington also added five rebounds and five assists against the Wildcats. He then scored 10 points with three rebounds and two assists in a loss to Lamar last Thursday. Washington capped the week by scoring a career-high 26 points in a 68-62 road win at North Dakota State in the Summit League/WAC Challenge. He also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in the victory.
WASHINGTON FEATURED MONDAY NIGHT ON ESPN'S TOP-10 PLAYS
Utah Valley senior guard scored a career-high 22 points with five threes in Monday night's loss at No. 9 Kentucky. A shot fake from beyond the arc that made his opponent fly through the air, and then the drive and finish at the basket was featured as the No. 10 play on Monday night on ESPN SportsCenter's Top-10 plays of the night. Washington helped lead UVU's comeback after being down 16 points to cutting the lead to just one point, 67-66, with 3:26 to play.
BBN SHOWCASE
Utah Valley will wrap up BBN Showcase play on Tuesday night at Mount St. Mary's. The Wolverines opened the Multi-Tournament Event with a win at UAB. The team then dropped a road game at No. 9 Kentucky and a home game to Lamar.
UTAH VALLEY BOUNCES BACK WITH 66-62 WIN AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE
TJ Washington scored a career-high 26 points and
Brandon Averette added 16 to lead the Wolverines past North Dakota State on the road, 68-62.
The Wolverines scored the on their first possession of the game before the Bison used a 13-4 run to take a 13-6 lead with 12:01 to go in the half.
Trey Woodbury made an and-one layup to quick start a 14-0 UVU run over the next four minutes to jump out to a 20-13 advantage. The teams battled back-and-forth before the Wolverines held North Dakota State without a field goal for the final six minutes of the half as part of an 11-4 run to take a 33-24 lead into the break.
After a basket by the Bison to start to the half, the Wolverines went on an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 41-26 with 16:49 to go in the game. North Dakota cut into the lead with a 12-4 run to make it 45-38 with 13:17 go in the game. UVU extended their lead to 57-42 with a 12-4 run, led by Washington and
Brandon Averette. North Dakota State responded with a 13-2 run to cut the lead to 59-56 with 5:11 to go in the game. Washington hit a step-back three and Woodbury and
Casdon Jardine each hit a couple of clutch free throws to seal the 68-62 win.
The Wolverines shot 49 percent for the game, finishing 28-of-57 from the field, while holding the Bison to just 40 percent from the field. Utah Valley shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line, its first game without a miss from the charity strip since they went 17-of-17 against Chicago State on Jan. 23, 2016. UVU dominated the paint, outscoring North Dakota State 44-30.
Washington finished the game 12-of-17 from the field to go along with a career-high nine rebounds. Averette added 16 points while Woodbury and Jardine chipped in nine points apiece.
UVU RANKS THIRD NATIONALLY IN BLOCKS
As of Nov. 25, Utah Valley ranks third in the nation in total blocks with 45 this season. The Wolverines also rank 12th in the nation in blocks per game at 6.4 a game.
Emmanuel Olojakpoke is tied for sixth in the nation in blocks with 21. He also ranks 17th in the nation in blocks per game at 3.0 a contest.
BLOCK PARTY
Utah Valley's 11 blocks in its 72-55 win over Westminster is the second-most blocks in a single game in UVU history.
Brandon Morley and
Emmanuel Olojakpoke each had five blocks, which ranks 10th on the UVU individual single game record charts. The 11 blocks are the most blocks in a single game since UVU recorded 11 blocks in a win over Chicago State on Jan. 12, 2017. The all-time UVU single game record for blocks is 12 set by the 2012-13 team in a win over NJIT on Jan. 5, 2013.
HOME WINS STREAK ENDS AT EIGHT
Utah Valley held one of the nation's best win streaks at eight games. Lamar ended the streak with a 74-68 win over the Wolverines on Nov. 21. At the time of the loss, UVU's eight-game home win streak was the 11th-best win streak in the nation.
UTAH VALLEY HAS WON 33 OF ITS LAST 36 GAMES AT HOME
Utah Valley won a school-record 22 straight games at home dating from a win over UTSA on Nov. 29, 2017 to a win over UTRGV on Jan. 17, 2019. The previous UVU home win streak record was 17 games, which was set from the 2004-05 season to the 2005-06 season. UVU holds an impressive 32-3 (91.4 percent) record at home since a win over Seattle U on March 4, 2017. Utah Valley holds an all-time 182-48 (79.1 percent) record in its 14th season this season at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines are averaging 13.7 wins a season on their home hardwood. UVU finished the 2018-19 season with a school-record 16-1 mark. The team went 14-1 at home during the 2017-18 season. UVU is 2-1 at home this season.
UVU HOLDS BEST RECORD AMONG DIVISION I TEAMS IN THE STATE OF UTAH OVER THE PAST TWO SEASONS
Utah Valley holds the best record among Division I teams in the state of Utah over the past two seasons.
In-State School Records over Last Two Seasons (2017-18 & 2018-19)
1. Utah Valley 48-21 (.696)
2. Utah State 45-24 (.652)
3. BYU 43-24 (.641)
4. Utah 40-26 (.606)
5. Weber State 38-26 (.593)
6. Southern Utah 30-36 (.454)
THREE-POINT STREAKING
Utah Valley has now hit a three-point field goal in 139 straight games. The last time UVU played in a game without hitting a shot from beyond the arc was on Feb. 7, 2015 at Seattle U.
