UTAH VALLEY HOSTS GRAND CANYON ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT UCCU CENTER
Fresh off a 72-58 win over CSU Bakersfield on Thursday night, Utah Valley continues play at the UCCU Center on Saturday afternoon against Grand Canyon. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. (MT).

Michael V. Jacobsen will become the 29th member of the Utah Valley University Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Saturday prior game against Grand Canyon. Ironically, Jacobsen was the director of athletics at UVU for 29 years before retiring in 2013. With Jacobsen leading the way, Utah Valley made a successful — and unprecedented — jump from the junior college ranks to NCAA Division I.

Brandon Averette matched a season high with 20 points to lead Utah Valley to a 72-58 win over CSU Bakersfield on Thursday night at the UCCU Center. Averette scored his 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting from the field, including an impressive 5 of 6 mark from long range. He also pulled down three rebounds in 33 minutes of action. Jamison Overton scored 12 points on a 6 of 10 mark from the field. He also pulled down two rebounds and dished out four assists. Isaiah White and TJ Washington also reached double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Emmanuel Olojakpoke became UVU's single season record holder in total blocks on Thursday night in a win over CSU Bakersfield. The senior center had three blocks in the game to push his season blocks total to 72. The 72 swats breaks the UVU single season record of 71 set by Akolda Manyang during the 2017-18 season.
 
As of Feb. 21, Utah Valley ranks tied for 11th in the nation in total blocks with 140 swats. The Wolverines also rank 13th nationally in blocks per game at 5.2 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke is ranked tied for seventh nationally with 72 blocks. He also ranks 14th in blocks per game at 2.67.

Utah Valley has played 15 games this season that have been decided by six points or less and seven games decided by three points or less. The Wolverines have lost six games by three points or less and 11 games by six points or less.

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
Saturday afternoon's game against Grand Canyon will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network, which is available at WACsports.com/Watch. Brandon Crow will be handling the play-by-play duties and former UVU standout Holton Hunsaker will be on the color commentary. The WAC Digital Network is also available on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku TV. UVU will also send the feed out on its YouTube channel. KSL TV will also stream the game on the KSL TV app. The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves as Jim McCulloch enters his 10th season as the Voice of the Wolverines. 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.

ABOUT GRAND CANYON
Grand Canyon enters Saturday game against the Wolverines with an 12-14 overall record and a 7-5 mark in WAC play. The team had won three straight games before dropping a 95-89 decision at Seattle U on Thursday night. Prior to Thursday's loss to the Redhawks, GCU had defeated California Baptist, Kansas City, and Chicago State. Junior center Allesandro Lever led the 'Lopes with 23 points and nine rebounds in the loss at Seattle U. Redshirt junior guards Mikey Dixon (16 points) and Isiah Brown (14 points) each made 6 of 14 shots with Brown not making a turnover. Freshman guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored 21 points in the effort. GCU has four players averaging double figures this season led by Lever's 15.7 points a game. Senior guard Carlos Johnson ranks second on the team at 15.1 points per game, followed by Dixon at 13.1 and Blacksher Jr. at 11.1. As a team, GCU is averaging 70.7 points a game while allowing opponents a 72.4 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GRAND CANYON
Utah Valley and Grand Canyon meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 17th time on Saturday. The 'Lopes hold an all-time 10-6 advantage in the series. Utah Valley won the first meeting of the 2020 series on Jan. 25 in Phoenix, 73-69. The win was UVU's first victory in Phoenix since Feb. 6, 2014. The Wolverines hold an all-time 4-3 advantage over the 'Lopes in games played in Orem. The Wolverines have won the last two matchups in Orem, defeating GCU 82-70 in 2019 and 68-56 in 2018. GCU's last win at the UCCU Center was on Feb. 18, 2017. UVU has won two of the last three matchups between the two teams. UVU and GCU have met in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament in each of the past two seasons with the 'Lopes winning both of those contests.

All-Time Results vs. Grand Canyon (GCU leads 10-6)
Jan. 25, 2020    Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 73-69    Phoenix, Arizona
March 15, 2019    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 78-74    Las Vegas, Nevada
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