#2 UTAH VALLEY FACES #3 GRAND CANYON IN WAC TOURNAMNT SEMIFINAL
Utah Valley defeated Kansas City 71-64 on Thursday night to advance to its third-straight WAC Tournament semifinal game. The second-ranked Wolverines will take on No. 3 Grand Canyon on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. PT/9:30 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and ESPN 960 AM radio in Utah County.

Conner Toolson scored a game-high 21 points and Richard Harward knocked down a go-ahead free throw with two minutes remaining to help lift Utah Valley to a 71-64 win over No. 7 Kansas City on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament. Toolson scored his 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor, including a pair of shots from long range. He was a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe and registered a pair of steals in 34 minutes of play. Harward tallied his 15 points on a 6-of-7 mark from the field, including a 3-of-4 clip from the free throw line. He also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

Utah Valley's Jake Toolson has been named the Western Athletic Conference men's basketball Player of the Year, while Wyatt Lowell has earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors, the league office announced on Tuesday.  Toolson becomes the first player in UVU history to earn WAC Player of the Year honors, while Lowell is the first UVU player to receive the league's Freshman of the Year honor.

With its win over Kansas City on Thursday night, Utah Valley has broken the school record for wins in a season at 24. The team surpassed last season's win total of 23. It marks the first time in school history that the team has won 20-plus games in back-to-back seasons.

Conner Toolson became just the eighth player in UVU history to score 1,000 points. The senior guard knocked down a shot from long range with 14:38 remaining in the second half against Sam Houston State on Dec. 22 to reach the 1,000-point mark. He is now fifth on the all-time scoring list with 1,181 points.

According to data provided by Sports-Reference.com, Jake Toolson is the only player in the country that has played in 20 or more games while shooting better than 55 percent from the field (55.0 percent), 45 percent from three-point range (46.8 percent), and 85 percent from the free throw line (85.0 percent). Such a season has only been accomplished 20 times since 1992. Of that group, only 10 players in that group scored over 300 total points in a season. Toolson is one of those 10 players. The junior guard is in rare company.

As of March 13, Utah Valley holds one of the top shooting percentages in the country as the Wolverines rank 16th nationally in field-goal percentage with a 48.5 percent clip from the floor. UVU also ranks 12th in the country in three-point field goal percentage at 39.1 percent. Jake Toolson ranks 44th nationally with a 55.9 percent field goal mark and 26th nationally from charity stripe as he holds an 86.9 free throw percentage. According to KenPom.com, Toolson holds the nation's sixth-best true shooting percentage (70.3) in the nation.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Friday night's game against Grand Canyon will be broadcast live on ESPN+, which is available at ESPNplus.com. Adam Young and Sed Bonner will be on the call. Rachel Vigil will handle the sideline reporting duties. The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves as Jim McCulloch, the Voice of the Wolverines, is in his ninth season with the team. Josh Kallunki 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.

WAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Utah Valley makes its sixth appearance at the WAC Tournament this week. The Wolverines hold an all-time 4-5 record at the tournament. UVU's four wins at the tournament were a 83-63 win over UTRGV in the quarterfinals of the 2013 tournament, a 65-53 quarterfinal win over No. 5 Seattle U in the 2017 tournament, an 81-74 victory over CSU Bakersfield in the quarterfinals of the 2018 tourney, and a 71-64 win over No. 8 Kansas City in the quarterfinal game on Thursday night. UVU has earned the No. 2 seed for a second straight year.

All-Time Results at WAC Tournament (4-5)
March 13, 2014    #1 Utah Valley 83, #8 UTRGV 63    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 14, 2014    #5 Idaho 74, #1 Utah Valley 69    Semifinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 12, 2015    #4 Bakersfield 55, #5 Utah Valley 40    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 10, 2016    #5 UMKC 80, #4 Utah Valley 78    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 09, 2017    #4 Utah Valley 65, #5 Seattle U 53    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 10, 2017    #1 CSU Bakersfield 81, #4 Utah Valley 80 (4OT)    Semifinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 08, 2018    #2 Utah Valley 81, #7 CSU Bakersfield 74    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 09, 2018    #3 Grand Canyon 75, #2 Utah Valley 60    Semifinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 14, 2019    #2 Utah Valley 71, #7 Kansas City 64    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas, Nevada

JAKE TOOLSON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR, LOWELL EARNS WAC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR HONORS
Utah Valley's Jake Toolson has been named the Western Athletic Conference men's basketball Player of the Year, while Wyatt Lowell has earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors, the league office announced on Tuesday. Toolson (Gilbert, Arizona) becomes the first player in UVU history to earn WAC Player of the Year honors, while Lowell (Gilbert, Arizona) is the first UVU player to receive the league's Freshman of the Year honor. Toolson was named the WAC Player of the Year after posting five games with 20 or more points in WAC play. During league play, he ranked third in the WAC in three-point percentage (47.4), free throw percentage (87.3), and three-pointers per game (2.3). He also ranked fourth in both scoring (16.7) and field goal percentage (54.0) and sixth in minutes per game (33.8). Toolson was named WAC Player of the Week once this season. Toolson was also named to the All-WAC First Team. The junior guard is the only player in the nation that has played in 20 or more games while shooting better than 55 percent from the field (56.1 percent), 45 percent from three-point range (48.5 percent), and 85 percent from the free throw line (86.5 percent). Such a season has only been accomplished 20 times since 1992. Of that group, only 10 players in that group scored over 300 total points in a season. Toolson is one of those 10 players. He ranks 26th in the nation at the free throw line (86.9) and 44th nationally in field goal percentage (55.9). Toolson is the first player from UVU to earn the WAC's top honor. His uncle, Danny Ainge (BYU), won the award in 1989. Other notable previous WAC Player of the Year honorees include Tim Hardaway (UTEP, '89), Keith Van Horn (Utah, '95, '96, '97), Andre Miller (Utah, '99), Nick Fazekas (Nevada, '05, '06, '07), and Pascal Siakam (NM State, 2016).

Lowell earns WAC Freshman of the Year honors after leading all WAC freshmen in scoring (5.4), rebounding (3.0) and steals (0.5) in WAC play. He scored in double-digits in WAC games three times with two starts. Lowell becomes the first player in UVU history to earn the WAC Freshman of the Year honor.

ABOUT GRAND CANYON
Grand Canyon enters Friday night's game with an 19-12 overall record under sixth-year head coach Dan Majerle. The Antelopes finished third in the WAC standings this past season with a 10-6 record. The 'Lopes had dropped two straight before picking up the 84-75 win over Seattle U on Thursday night. Grand Canyon has four players averaging double figures led by junior guard Carlos Johnson at 14.2 points a game. Sophomore center Alessandro Lever and redshirt senior forward Michael Finke follow closely behind at 12.6 and 12.4 points per game, respectively. Sophomore guard Damari Milstead also averages double digits at 10.4 points a game. Redshirt senior guard Trey Drechsel leads the team on the boards, pulling down 5.8 a contest. As a team, Grand Canyon is averaging 76.2 points a game while limiting opponents to a 68.2 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GRAND CANYON
Utah Valley and Grand Canyon meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 15th time on Friday night. The 'Lopes hold an all-time 9-5 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 three as the Antelopes took a 60-59 win in Phoenix, a 75-60 victory over UVU in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas, and a 71-60 win over the Wolverines in the WAC opener on Jan. 3 of this season. UVU split the season series with GCU with each team winning on its home floor this past year.

All-Time Results vs. Grand Canyon (GCU leads 9-5)
March 7, 2019    Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 82-70    Orem, Utah
Jan. 03, 2019    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 71-60    Phoenix, Arizona
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. 7, 2019 - Orem, Utah)
Jake Toolson scored a game-high 19 points and Conner Toolson added 18 to lead Utah Valley to an 82-70 win over Grand Canyon on March 7, 2019 at the UCCU Center. The win secured the Wolverines a second place finish in the WAC for a second straight season.
 
Leading 6-5 just two minutes into the game, Utah Valley went on a 16-5 run capped off by a Richard Harward dunk to jump out to a 24-10 lead with 13:26 left in the half. GCU countered with a 15-5 run of its own over the next six minutes to cut the UVU advantage to just four points, 29-25, with seven minutes to go. The two teams played even the rest of the way as the Wolverines took a 43-39 lead into the break.
 
The two teams played even through the first 1:30 of the second half until the Wolverines used a 7-0 run to take a double digit 56-46 lead with 14:30 remaining. Conner Toolson made a pair of free throws and Isaiah White knocked down a three to spark a 13-4 UVU run over a 3:14 span to help the Wolverines jump out to a 77-58 lead with just under five minutes to play.
Jake Toolson scored his 19 points on a 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including a 4-of-6 clip from long range. He also knocked down 3-of-3 shots at the charity stripe. The junior guard also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out seven assists.
 
Conner Toolson scored his 18 points on a 6-of-14 mark from the field, including a 3-of-7 clip from beyond the arc. He also hit 3-of-3 free throws and tallied a pair of steals.
 
Richard Harward was also in double figures with 14 points to go along with eight rebounds. Harward was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and knocked down 4-of-6 free throws
 
UVU ADVANCES TO WAC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS WITH 71-64 WIN OVER #7 KANSAS CITY
Conner Toolson scored a game-high 21 points and Richard Harward knocked down a go-ahead free throw with two minutes remaining to help lift Utah Valley to a 71-64 win over No. 7 Kansas City on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
 
Trailing 62-59 with three minutes to play, Jake Toolson made a turnaround hook shot to cut the UMKC to just one point, 62-61, with 2:46 remaining. After a Conner Toolson steal, Harward was fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Wolverines a 63-62 lead with two minutes to play. UVU then outscored UMKC 8-4 the rest of the way to secure the 71-64 win.
 
With the win, Utah Valley (24-8) breaks the school record for wins in a season with 24, surpassing the record of 23 wins set last season.

Utah Valley and Kansas City played through four lead changes and four ties over the first eight minutes of the first half with the Wolverines taking a 17-14 advantage at the 11:55 mark. UVU then went on an 8-2 run to jump out to a 25-16 lead with 8:42 left in the half. UMKC responded with a 14-3 run over a 5:13 span take a 37-35 lead into the break.
 
Kansas City outscored the Wolverines 6-2 over the first 4:11 of the first half to extend its lead to five points, 43-38, with 15:49 to play. UMKC then took its biggest lead of the game, 49-40, with 12:19 to play. Richard Harward then led UVU on an 11-3 UVU run with seven points before Conner Toolson converted a three-point play to tie the game, 54-54, with 6:42 to play. Trailing 59-56 with 3:25 to play, Conner Toolson knocked down a three to tie the game, 59-59. UMKC's Xavier Bishop responded back with a three of his own at the three-minute mark to give the 'Roos a 62-59 lead before a Jake Toolson turnaround hook shot cut it to a 62-61 UKC advantage with 2:46 to play. Harward was fouled on the other end and connected on a pair of free throws to give UVU a lead it would not relinquish as the Wolverines held on for the 71-64 win.
 
Conner Toolson scored his 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor, including a pair of shots from long range. He was a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe and registered a pair of steals in 34 minutes of play. Harward tallied his 15 points on a 6-of-7 mark from the field, including a 3-of-4 clip from the free throw line. He also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Isaiah White recorded nine points, Jake Toolson tallied seven, and Ben Nakwaasah helped with six. White also had six rebounds, while Toolson pulled down seven

TOOLSON ONLY PLAYER IN THE NATION TO PLAY 20-PLUS GAMES WHILE SHOOTING BETTER THAN 55 PERCENT FROM FLOOR, 45 PERCENT FROM THREE, AND 85 PERCENT FROM THE LINE
According to data provided by Sports-Reference.com, Jake Toolson is the only player in the country that has played in 20 or more games while shooting better than 55 percent from the field (55.0 percent), 45 percent from three-point range (46.8 percent), and 85 percent from the free throw line (85.0 percent). Such a season has only been accomplished 20 times since 1992. Of that group, only 10 players in that group scored over 300 total points in a season. Toolson is one of those 10 players. The junior guard is in rare company.

UVU STAT LEADERS
Jake Toolson leads Utah Valley in scoring at 16.0 points per game, followed closely behind by Conner Toolson at 13.3 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 55.0 percent (176-of-320), including a team-best 46.8 percent (65-of-139) clip from three-point range. He also leads UVU with an 85.0 percent (96-of-113) clip from the free throw line. Baylee Steele leads UVU on the boards, pulling down 7.1 rebounds a game, while TJ Washington leads the team in assists at 3.8 a game.

JAKE TOOLSON TIED WITH COUSIN RYAN TOOLSON FOR HIGHEST THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE MARK IN UVU HISTORY
Jake Toolson currently holds a 46.8 percent mark from long range this season, connecting on an impressive 65-of-139 shots from deep. The mark currently ties the current UVU single season record of 46.8 percent (65-of-139) by Ryan Toolson during the 2003-04 season.