MBB: Mavs Chasing Fifth Straight Win Thursday Night at Utah Valley

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Orem, Utah – UT Arlington men's basketball (11-11, 4-4 WAC) hits the road to take on Utah Valley (15-7, 7-1 WAC) on Thursday, Feb. 6, at the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and on the radio on the Varsity app, as well as 102.5 FM and KTNO 620 AM with the Voice of the Mavs, Josh Sours. Utah Valley fell 75-57 at Grand Canyon on Saturday night and UTA looks to avenge an 85-83 overtime loss to the Wolverines back on Jan. 16 in Arlington.

"Keys for us are rebounding for one, and transition defense," head coach KT Turner said of Utah Valley during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. "They really ran it down our throats and just defending their personnel. They have really good players and run really good sets. We have to be on point, our talk has to be good and we have to guard them. But we really have to stop them with transition defense and rebound the basketball."   The Mavs have won four straight and are coming off of an exciting 73-71 home win over Utah Tech that saw forward/center Lance Ware, the WAC Newcomer of the Week, post his seventh double-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Guards Jaden Wells and Brody Robinson each scored a team-high 15 points apiece, with Wells hitting 5-of-8 from deep and Robinson chipped in seven assists in the victory.   Robinson is averaging 12.3 ppg and 9.0 apg in his last four, while Ware has registered double-doubles in four of his past five contests.   UTA's next opponent, Utah Valley, is off to an 15-7 start, and is now second in the WAC standings at 7-1, following a 75-57 loss at league-leaders Grand Canyon on Saturday.   The Wolverines are led by second-year head coach Todd Phillips, who became Utah Valley's winningest first-year coach in program history, going 16-16 last season. The Wolverines won 11 WAC games, which was also a program-best for a first-year head coach. Prior to his time as head coach, Phillips spent four seasons on staff under former head coach Mark Madsen, and before that spent eight seasons at the helm of Salt Lake Community College, where he compiled a 205-58 record.   Utah Valley is led by guard Dominick Nelson, who is averaging a team-high 14.5 ppg and 5.4 rpg. He had 25 points, five assists and four boards in the win over UTA on Jan. 16. Forward Carter Welling (12.6 ppg and 6.1 rpg) is also a key component of the Wolverines' success this season. He was held in check on Jan. 16, scoring eight points and pulling down five rebounds. Guard Tanner Toolson (11.2 ppg and 4.2 rpg) is another key fixture for Utah Valley and had 22 in the last meeting.   Thursday's meeting between UTA and Utah Valley will be the eighth all-time, with UTA having won four of the previous seven.  

-- #BuckEm –

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