UTAH VALLEY SET TO TAKE ON GRAND CANYON ON THURSDAY NIGHT IN PHOENIX

• Utah Valley travels to Phoenix to take on WAC rival Grand Canyon on Thursday night at GCU Arena in the Grand Canyon State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (MT). The Wolverines will then wrap up regular season play at New Mexico State on Saturday before heading to Las Vegas for the WAC Tournament.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq recorded his nation-leading 25th double-double of the season with 20 points and 16 rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 63-54 win over California Baptist in the team's home finale on Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center. Trey Farrer came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points with a career-high seven rebounds. Tim Fuller scored nine points, while Justin Harmon helped with eight. Connor Harding dished out a team-high five assists to go along with five rebounds.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq was named the TicketSmarter WAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for February 21-27. The award marks Aimaq's fifth WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the eighth of his career. Big Maple recorded his 24th and 25th double-doubles of the season in a pair of wins over Seattle U and California Baptist. On the week, he averaged 19.5 points and 17.0 rebounds per game while shooting 51.9 percent from the field.
   
• With his 20-point, 21-rebound performance on Feb. 19 at Dixie State, Aimaq became the only player in the country with three 20/20 games this season. Aimaq is also the only player in the nation to record back-to-back 20/20 games and is the only player in the country averaging at least 19 points and 13 rebounds per game.
   
• Utah Valley is one of only two teams in the country this season to rank in the top-30 nationally in both three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage defense. The Wolverines rank seventh in the nation in three-point percentage defense (28.1) and 25th in three-point field goal percentage (37.6).
   
• Aimaq has earned multiple honors already this season. He has five WAC Player of the Week honors, two Lute Olson National Player of the Week wards, and an ESPN Player of the Week award.
   
• As of Feb. 22, Fardaws Big Maple Aimaq leads the nation in double-doubles (25) and defensive rebounds per game (10.89). Aimaq also ranks second in rebounds per game (13.9) and second in total rebounds (390).
   
• As a team, Utah Valley ranks fourth in the country in defensive rebounds per game (29.82), sixth in rebound margin (8.6), sixth in total rebounds per game (41.00), and seventh in three-point field goal defense (28.1).

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's game at Grand Canyon will be broadcast live on ESPN+, which is available on the ESPN app and at ESPNplus.com. The game will also be broadcast over the air waves in Utah County with Jim McCulloch on the call. 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 Thursday's game with a 20-7 overall record. The team currently sits in fifth place in the WAC standings with an 11-5 record. GCU has won two straight since dropping a 65-60 loss to NM State at home on Feb. 19. The team then picked up an 85-64 road win at Chicago State on Feb. 23 and a convincing 67-41 win over Sam Houston at home on Feb. 26. The 'Lopes held Sam Houston to just 25.8 percent shooting and GCU knocked down 11 threes in its win over the Bearkats on Saturday. Jovan Blacksher Jr. led GCU with 18 points in the win, followed by Chance McMillian with 15. Blacksher leads the team in scoring this season at 16.4 points a game. Holland Woods II also averages double figures at 13.8 points a contest. Yvan Ouedraogo leads the team on the boards, pulling down 6.6 rebounds a game. GCU is one of the top three-point defensive teams in the nation as the team ranks third nationally, holding teams to a 27.3 clip from long range. GCU also ranks eighth nationally in field goal defense at 38.2.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GCU
Utah Valley and Grand Canyon meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 21st time on Thursday night. The Lopes hold an all-time 12-8 advantage in the series. GCU has won two straight over UVU, including a 79-69 win on Feb. 10 in Orem. Utah Valley holds a 3-6 record against GCU in games played in Phoenix. The two teams split a pair of games at GCU Arena last season, which secured UVU a share of the WAC regular season title.

LAST MEETING vs. Grand Canyon (Feb. 10, 2022 - Orem, Utah)
OREM—Le'Tre Darthard scored 16 points and Fardaws Aimaq recorded his nation-leading 20th double-double of the season to lead Utah Valley in a 79-69 setback to Grand Canyon on Feb. 10 at the UCCU Center.

AIMAQ EARNS HIS FIFTH WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR OF THE SEASON
Utah Valley's Fardaws Aimaq has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for February 21-27. The award marks Aimaq's fifth WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the eighth of his career.
 
Aimaq recorded his 24th and 25th double-doubles of the season in a pair of wins over Seattle U and California Baptist. Against Seattle U, the man they call Big Maple scored 19 points and brought down 18 rebounds to go with three blocks, two assists and a steal. He followed that up with 20 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks in a win against California Baptist. On the week, he was 14-of-27 from the field for a .519 shooting clip and was a perfect 9-for-9 on free throws.

AIMAQ BREAKS ALL-TIME UVU SINGLE SEASON REBOUNDS RECORD
With his 21 rebounds at Dixie State on Feb. 20, Fardaws Aimaq surpassed Geddes Robinson as the all-time single season rebounder in UVU history. Aimaq now has a single season school-record 390 rebounds, passing Robinson who had 344 rebounds during the 2011-12 season.

All-Time UVU Single Season Rebounds Chart
1.    Fardaws Aimaq, 2021-22    390
2.    Geddes Robinson, 2011-12    344
3.    Fardaws Aimaq, 2020-21    330
4.    Isaac Neilson, 2016-17    310
5.    Geddes Robinson, 2010-11    282
6.    Ben Aird, 2013-14    267
7.    Ben Aird, 2012-13    262
8.    Baylee Steele, 2018-19    252
9.    Akolda Manyang, 2017-18    251
10.    Ben Aird, 2011-12    249

AIMAQ NEARING SIAKAM'S WAC DOUBLE-DOUBLE RECORD, NCAA RECORD
Fardaws Aimaq now has 25 double-doubles. The WAC double-doubles record is held by New Mexico State's Pascal Siakam who had 27 during the 2015-16 season. The NCAA record is 31 by David Robinson (1985-86).

20/20 CLUB
Fardaws Aimaq is the only player in the nation with three 20/20 games this season. The sophomore center recorded a 24-point, 22-rebound game in a win over then No. 12-ranked BYU at home. He then became the only player in the country to record back-to-back 20/20 games with a 20-point, 22-rebound game in a win at Tarleton (Feb. 16, 2022), followed by a 21-point, 20-rebound game in a loss at Dixie State (Feb. 19, 2022). There have only been 13 20/20 games this season and Aimaq has three of them.

BIG MAPLE JUST 11 POINTS SHY OF 1,000, 62 SHY OF 600 POINTS IN A SEASON
Fardaws Aimaq needs just 11 more points to hit the 1,000-career point mark. Aimaq currently has 989 points in his three-season career. Aimaq also needs just 62 more points to become just the third player in UVU history to score 600 or more points in a single season. The only other Wolverines to hit the single season 600-point mark are Ronnie Price (2004-05) and Ryan Toolson (2007-08, 2008-09).

AIMAQ RECORDS 25th DOUBLE-DOUBLE TO LEAD UTAH VALLEY TO 63-54 WIN OVER CALIFORNIA BAPTIST IN HOME FINALE
Fardaws Aimaq recorded his nation-leading 25th double-double of the season with 20 points and 16 rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 63-54 win over California Baptist in the team's home finale on Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center.