LAS VEGAS—Top-seeded Utah Valley will play for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship when the Wolverines face No. 2 California Baptist on Saturday night at Orleans Arena. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. PT/10 p.m. MT with the game broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and on the Wolverine Sports Network (960 AM/103.9 FM/98.3 FM) with pregame coverage beginning one hour before tip.
Utah Valley (25-7) advanced to the championship game with a 67-65 win over No. 4 UT Arlington in Friday night's semifinal. Jackson Holcombe scored 14 points and knocked down the game-winning free throws with 19 seconds remaining before Isaac Hawkins delivered a key defensive stop in the closing seconds to secure the victory.
The Wolverines will now play in the WAC Tournament championship game for the second consecutive season and just the second time in program history. Utah Valley is seeking its first WAC Tournament title and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
California Baptist (24-8) reached the championship game with an 86-72 win over Utah Tech in the semifinals behind a historic performance from Dominique Daniels Jr., who scored 41 points to lead the Lancers. Daniels Jr. leads CBU in scoring and is one of the top offensive players in the conference.
Saturday's championship matchup will mark the fourth meeting of the season between Utah Valley and California Baptist. The Wolverines won the regular-season series 2-1, taking both games played in Orem while the Lancers claimed an overtime victory in Riverside.
Utah Valley is led by All-WAC First Team selections Trevan Leonhardt and Jackson Holcombe. Leonhardt averages 12.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game while recently breaking his own single-season school record with 191 assists. Holcombe leads the Wolverines in scoring (15.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg) while setting the program's single-season steals record with 71.
Sherman Weatherspoon IV has also provided a spark for Utah Valley down the stretch and scored 11 points with three three-pointers in the semifinal win over UT Arlington.
Utah Valley enters the championship game having won seven of its last eight games and 21 of its last 25 overall while capturing the program's second straight outright WAC regular-season championship. The Wolverines are seeking their first conference tournament title since beginning Division I play in 2003.
The winner of Saturday night's championship game will earn the Western Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
