OREM—Utah Valley continues its three-game road swing on Saturday night when it travels to face California Baptist at the Fowler Events Center in Riverside. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. MT on ESPN+ with radio coverage on ESPN The Fan.
Utah Valley (15–5, 5–2 WAC) enters Saturday tied for first place in the WAC standings following an 84–70 setback at Southern Utah on Wednesday night in Cedar City. The Wolverines sit at 15–5 through 20 games, tying the best 20-game start of the program's full-status NCAA Division I era (since 2009).
Redshirt sophomore guard Jackson Holcombe continues to pace Utah Valley offensively at 16.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 58.1 percent from the field. Redshirt junior guard Trevan Leonhardt adds 11.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game, ranking among the national leaders in assists. Graduate guard Noah Taitz contributes just over 10 points per game, while redshirt junior wing Tyler Hendricks remains one of the nation's top three-point shooters at 48.5 percent from beyond the arc. Sophomore forward Isaac Davis rounds out the scoring core at 9.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Defensively, Utah Valley continues to rank among the nation's most active and efficient units, placing inside the top 20 nationally in steals per game, blocks per game, assist rate, field goal percentage, and effective field goal percentage. UVU is holding opponents to just over 40 percent shooting on the season while ranking fifth nationally in assists per game (19.8) through Jan. 22.
California Baptist (14–6, 4–3 WAC) enters the matchup riding a four-game winning streak after defeating Utah Tech, 73–64, on Wednesday night in Riverside. The Lancers are 9–0 at home this season and sit one game behind Utah Valley in the WAC standings. Graduate guard Dominique Daniels Jr. leads CBU and ranks among the league's top scorers at 20.6 points per game, while also averaging 3.4 assists. Senior guard Martel Williams adds 14.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Forwards Thomas Ndong (5.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg), Bradey Henige (5.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and Jonathan Griman (6.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg) anchor a frontcourt that helps CBU average 40.4 rebounds per contest with a +9.3 rebounding margin.
As a team, California Baptist averages 73.1 points per game on 43.7 percent shooting, including 31.2 percent from three, while holding opponents to 69.2 points per game and 42.4 percent shooting. The Lancers are plus-9.3 on the glass and average 11.0 assists and 12.6 turnovers per outing.
Saturday marks the 17th all-time meeting between the programs, with Utah Valley holding a 12–4 advantage in the series. UVU has won three straight and eight of the last ten matchups, including a 73–66 win on Dec. 29 in Orem. The Wolverines are 4–2 all-time in Riverside.
Following Saturday's contest, Utah Valley will conclude its road swing at Tarleton State next week before returning home to host Abilene Christian on Feb. 5 at the UCCU Center.
