UTAH VALLEY TRAVELS DOWN UNIVERSITY PARKWAY TO TAKE ON BYU IN UCCU CROSSTOWN CLASH

• Utah Valley opened the 2020-21 season with a 100-75 win over Adams State on Thanksgiving Day at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines now travel the 4.9 miles down University Parkway to take on in-state rival BYU on Saturday night at the Marriott Center in a UCCU Crosstown Clash. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq recorded a 24-point, 18-rebound double-double in his Utah Valley debut to lead the Wolverines to a 100-75 win over Adams State in the team's season opener on Thursday. Trey Woodbury and Jamison "JJ" Overton each tallied career highs with 22 points apiece. As a team, UVU shot a blistering 61.4 percent from the floor (43-70), including a 36 percent mark from long range (5-14). UVU held Adams State to 41 percent shooting. The Wolverines outrebounded ASU, 40-30.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq's 18 rebounds on Thursday are the second-most ever recorded in a single game in UVU history. He was just one shy of tying the single game record of 19 set by Baylee Steel at BYU on Nov. 9, 2018.
   
• JJ Overton earned the No. 5 spot on ESPN SportsCenter's Top-10 plays on Thursday night. His 360 degree fast break dunk him the nod.
   
• Utah Valley returns just two letterwinners from last year's squad that finished with an 11-19 record and an eighth place finish in the WAC. JJ Overton (7.2 ppg.) and Trey Woodbury (7.2 ppg.) are back after combining to score an average of 14.4 points per game last season. The Wolverines return just 20 percent of its scoring from a season ago.
   
• Utah Valley lost 79.8 percent of its scoring from a season ago, which ranks eighth in the nation. Kentucky leads the nation in the replacement scoring category as the Wildcats lost 94 percent of its scoring from last season.
   
• Utah Valley welcomes 16 new players to its roster this season, including Fardaws Aimaq, who each had to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. The Wolverines have added 10 new transfers (Le'Tre Darthard, Evan Cole, Blaze Nield, Tim Fuller, Jaden McClanahan, Cade Whicker, Colby Leifson, Asa McCord, Trey Farrer, and Jordan Brinson) to this year's roster. Aimaq (Mercer) also joins the team after redshirting last season.
   
• Graduate forward Evan Cole was named to the 2020-21 Preseason All-WAC team as selected by the media in the Western Athletic Conference preseason honors. Cole spent the last three seasons at Georgia Tech (2017-20). He played in 27 games for the Yellow Jackets last season, averaging 4.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He shot 47.1 percent from the field last season, connecting on 48 of 102 shots. During his three seasons at Georgia Tech, Cole played in 69 games while averaging 3.9 points and 3.0 rebounds a contest.
   
• Mark Madsen enters his second season as the head coach of the Wolverines. The two-time NBA champion, former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, and former Stanford basketball star went 11-19 during his first season with UVU. He is just the third head coach in UVU's Division I history. Madsen took  over the Utah Valley program last season 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 played for the Minnesota Timberwolves for six seasons.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday night's UCCU Crosstown Clash game at BYU will be broadcast live on BYUtv. Dave McCann and Blaine Fowler will be on the call. The broadcast will be streamed live at BYUtv.org. The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves as Jim McCulloch, the Voice of the Wolverines, is in his 11th season with the team. Former UVU star Holton Hunsaker 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 BYU
BYU is 2-0 on the season after wins at home over Westminster and New Orleans. The team will have played two games in three days heading into Saturday night's game at the Marriott Center. The Cougars opened the season with a 108-59 win over Westminster on Wednesday before downing New Orleans, 86-61, on Thursday night. Through its two games this season, senior guard Alex Barcello leads the team in scoring at 22.0 points a game, followed by senior guard Brandon Averette at 13.0 points a contest. Junior guard Connor Harding also averages double figures at 10.0 points a game. Junior center Richard Harward leads the team on the boards at 8.5 rebounds per game. As a team, BYU is averaging 97 points a game while limiting opponents to a 60.0 points per game scoring average. BYU is shooting 54.7 percent from the field, including a 42.4 percent mark from long range (28-66). BYU is coached by Mark Pope, who coached the Wolverines from 2015-19 with a 77-56 record.

SERIES HISTORY VS. BYU
Utah Valley and BYU meet on the basketball hardwood for the sixth time on Saturday night at the Marriott Center. The Cougars hold an all-time 4-1 lead in the series. The two teams last met on Nov. 9, 2018 with the Cougars taking a 75-65 win. Utah Valley's lone win in the series was a 114-101 victory on Nov. 26, 2016 at the Marriott Center.

All-Time Results vs. BYU
Nov. 09, 2018    BYU def. Utah Valley, 75-65    Provo, Utah
Nov. 29, 2017    BYU def. Utah Valley, 85-58    Orem, Utah
Nov. 26, 2016    Utah Valley def. BYU, 114-101    Provo, Utah
Nov. 13, 2015    BYU def. Utah Valley, 85-54    Provo, Utah
Nov. 29, 2003    BYU def. Utah Valley, 84-65    Provo, Utah

LAST MEETING VS. BYU (11/09/2018)
BYU defeated Utah Valley 75-65 the last time the two teams met on Nov. 9, 2018 at the Marriott Center in Provo.
 
The Wolverines raced out to an 11-4 lead at the 14:36 mark before BYU used an 8-0 run to regain the lead. The two teams battle back and forth and Utah Valley took a 26-25 lead into the half by winning the rebounding battle 28-24, including 10-3 on the offensive glass. The Wolverines held the Cougars without a field goal for the final 5:02 of the first half.

Baylee Steele led the charge with nine rebounds and Jake Toolson had five points to pace the Wolverines in the opening half. Yoeli Childs had 10 points and 10 rebounds for BYU in the first half.
 
The Cougars took an early lead in the second half with a 7-0 run to take a 32-28 lead. Another 10-2 run by BYU at 11:55 extended their lead to 46-37 but the Wolverines responded with a 12-5 run to tie the game up at 49-49 apiece. After the teams went back and forth an 8-0 serge by BYU gave the Cougars the lead for good and they held on for the win.

Utah Valley finished 25 of 75 from the field, including 6 of 23 from three. The Wolverines held the edge in offensive rebounds 16-9 but were outrebounded 47-46.
 
Jake Toolson led the Wolverines in scoring with 14 points and Ben Nakwaasah added 10 points. Baylee Steele grabbed a school-record 19 rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds. TJ Haws paced the Cougars with 23 points and Yoeli Childs finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds.

AIMAQ'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE LEADS UVU TO 100-75 WIN OVER ADAMS STATE IN SEASON OPENER
Fardaws Aimaq recorded a 24-point, 18-rebound double-double in his Utah Valley debut to lead the Wolverines to a 100-75 win over Adams State in the team's season opener on Thanksgiving Day at the UCCU Center. Trey Woodbury and Jamison Overton each tallied career highs with 22 points apiece.  
 
After taking a 12-11 lead eight minutes into the game, Aimaq put in back-to-back buckets and Woodbury knocked down a three before throwing one down to lead the Wolverines on an 11-3 run as UVU jumped out to a 23-14 lead with 9:47 remaining in the half.
 
Adams State cut the UVU lead to four points, 27-23, with seven minutes left in the half, but Utah Valley countered with a 10-0 run sparked by a pair of Jordan Brinson buckets to extend its lead to 14 points, 37-23, with five minutes to go. The Wolverines outscored the Grizzlies 12-10 over the final five minutes to take a 49-33 lead into the break.
 
The Wolverines continue to build on its lead early in the second half as Le'Tre Darthard knocked down a three to spark a 10-3 UVU run to extend its lead to 25 points, 65-40, with 13:45 to play. UVU continue to build upon its lead the remainder of the half to secure the 100-75 win.  
 
Aimaq scored his career-high 24 points on 11 of 18 shooting from the field and 2 of 2 shots from the charity stripe. He also pulled down 18 rebounds, which is just one rebound shy of tying the UVU single game record of 19 boards by Baylee Steel at BYU on Nov. 9, 2018. The redshirt sophomore also dished out a pair of assists and had a block in 28 minutes of play.
 
Woodbury knocked down 9 of 13 shots from the field, including 4 of 5 from long range for his 22 points. The junior guard also tallied four rebounds and four assists. Overton tallied his 22 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the floor. He also had five assists, four steals, and three rebounds on the day.  Brinson also reached double figures with 12 points, while Blaze Nield and Darthard each added four.
 
As a team, UVU shot a blistering 61.4 percent from the floor (43-70), including a 36 percent mark from long range (5-14). UVU held Adams State to 41 percent shooting. The Wolverines outrebounded ASU, 40-30.

DA DA DA, DA DA DA - UVU'S OVERTON EARNS THE NO. 5 SPOT ON ESPN SPORTSCENTER'S TOP-10 PLAYS
UVU has now been featured on ESPN's SportsCenter for five straight seasons after earning a spot on the show on Thanksgiving night. JJ Overton earned the No. 5 spot on SportsCenter's Top Plays for his 360 degree dunk in a 100-75 win over Adams State in UVU's season-opener.

AIMAQ RECORDS SECOND-MOST REBOUNDS IN A SINGLE GAME IN UVU HISTORY
Fardaws Aimaq pulled down 18 rebounds, which is just one rebound shy of tying the UVU single game record of 19 boards by Baylee Steel at BYU on Nov. 9, 2018.

UVU PICKED SIXTH BY MEDIA AND SEVENTH BY COACHES IN PRESEASON POLLS
Utah Valley was picked to finish sixth by the media and seventh by the coaches in the WAC's preseason polls. New Mexico State was picked to win the league in both polls. The Aggies received all available eight first place votes from the coaches and 10 of the 12 first place votes from the media. In the coaches' poll, Grand Canyon was picked to finish second with UT Rio Grande Valley third and California Baptist fourth. Seattle U was fifth, followed by WAC newcomer Tarleton sixth. UVU was selected seventh, Dixie State eighth, and Chicago State ninth. On the media side, Grand Canyon was selected second, UT Rio Grande Valley third, and California Baptist fourth. Seattle U was picked fifth, followed by Utah Valley in sixth, Dixie State seventh, Tarleton eighth, and Chicago State ninth.

EVAN COLE NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM
Graduate forward Evan Cole has been named to the 2020-21 Preseason All-WAC team as selected by the media in the Western Athletic Conference preseason honors. Cole, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound graduate forward, spent the last three seasons at Georgia Tech (2017-20). He played in 27 games for the Yellow Jackets last season, averaging 4.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He shot 47.1 percent from the field last season, connecting on 48 of 102 shots. During his three seasons at Georgia Tech, Cole played in 69 games while averaging 3.9 points and 3.0 rebounds a contest.

NEW FACES
Utah Valley welcomes 16 new players to its roster this season, including Fardaws Aimaq, who each had to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. The Wolverines have added 10 new transfers (Le'Tre Darthard, Evan Cole, Blaze Nield, Tim Fuller, Jaden McClanahan, Cade Whicker, Colby Leifson, Asa McCord, Trey Farrer, and Jordan Brinson) to this year's roster. Aimaq (Mercer) also joins the team after redshirting last season.

THREE-POINT STREAKING
Utah Valley has now hit a three-point field goal in 163 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.