(Orem, Utah – Jan. 20, 2024) Utah Tech men's basketball played Saturday afternoon, falling 84-71 to the Utah Valley Wolverines at the UCCU Center. The result moves the Trailblazers' record to 7-11 with a road trip to face Abilene Christian and Tarleton State scheduled for next weekend.
 
"A loss is a loss. The second half we played better but if you give a team this good a 19-point lead at home it's pretty tough to come back," Head Coach Jon Judkins said. "I love how we fought but it's the same stuff we're doing over and over… We'll learn and we'll get better."
 
Unisa Turay and Hamed Olayinka both started for the second-consecutive game as the opening minutes proved to be a balanced affair. Lehi native Noa Gonsalves scored the Trailblazers' opening points before a Jaylen Searles bucket brought the game within a single point less than three minutes in.
 
After the hosts went on a run to build up a double-digit lead, Utah Tech fought back. Trey Hall found himself on the scoreboard for the first time as a Trailblazer with a layup that cut the Wolverine lead down to six, though UVU would counter with a 12-3 run that fueled a 39-25 Utah Valley advantage at the halftime break.
 
Though the hosts build a lead as large as 19 early in the second half, Utah Tech battled back. Stone Hutchings made a big impact on the game, at one point scoring seven of UT's nine points in a 9-4 run that ended with 10:54 on the clock. Gonsalves and Turay started to heat up down the stretch with 11 combined points in a three-minute stretch, capped off by a Gonsalves triple with 7:02 remaining in the game.
 
Utah Tech's late surge continued, as Christensen drained a triple that cut the lead down to single digits with 4:17 to go. An Aric Demings jumper and yet another Gonsalves triple made the deficit eight less than two minutes later, though Utah Valley would manage the late run to take an 84-71 result.
 
Gonsalves finished as the Trailblazers' leading scorer with 16 points on 5-11 shooting and 3-6 from deep as Christensen recorded his fourth double-double of the season to finish with a line of 15 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and a career-high five blocks. Searles paired 12 points with four rebounds while Turay had 12 points and five assists in 23 minutes played.
 
Stone Hutchings set a career-high for minutes played (12), finishing with seven points and three rebounds, while Caleb Stearman tied a career-high with six rebounds. Trey Hall scored his first points as a Trailblazer in three minutes on the court while Olayinka finished with four points, seven rebounds and one block.
 
"I thought Tanner was our best player. He had the 15 points and we tried to feed him but they were double teaming him," Coach Judkins said. "Stone hasn't played more than three games this year but gave us some really good minutes, made some mistakes but he hasn't played much and I was proud of his effort. Caleb did it Thursday too – we're going to go find players who want to do it."
 
As a team Utah Tech shot 38.7% from the field and hit seven shots from deep. Using a controlling 44-34 advantage on the glass, the Trailblazers scored 22 points in the paint and converted those rebounds into 13 second chance points. With five steals and eight blocks the Trailblazer defense generated 12 Wolverine turnovers that were converted into 10 points off turnovers and 17 on the fast break.
 
Utah Tech returns to action next weekend, heading to Texas for games against Abilene Christian and Tarleton State.