Utah Tech gave PAC-12 member Washington all it wanted in more, but Huskies managed to pull away late to hand the Trailblazers a 78-67 road loss on Monday night inside the Alaska Airlines Arena.  

How it happened 
Utah Tech (1-2/0-0 WAC) got off to a quick start, thanks to the hot shooting hand of sophomore forward Tanner Christensen, who scored UT's first eight points to lead his squad to an early 8-4 lead.
 
Washington (3-0) wrestled the lead away with a 13-4 run, which was spurred on by a pair of Cole Bejema 3-pointers, to bolt out to a 17-12 advantage.
 
However Christensen could not be stopped as the Spokane Valley, Wash., native sparked a 13-0 Blazer rally, accounting for 10 of those points. Meanwhile. Tacoma native, freshman Asjon Anderson, nailed a 3-pointer in the run, as Utah Tech led 25-17 with just over eight minutes to play in the period.
 
The Huskies stayed within striking distance, and managed to trim the Utah Tech lead down to 36-34 as both teams retreated to their locker rooms for the halftime intermission. 
 
Washington regained the lead at 46-42 with a 12-6 spurt to begin the second half.
 
The Trailblazers quickly answered by hitting their next five shots, including eight points in the paint from Christensen. Meanwhile junior guard Isaiah Pope drained a 3-pointer as Utah Tech erased the deficit and went back on top by a 53-47 count with 12:19 remaining.
 
After Washington pulled even at 55-55, Cameron Gooden nailed a 3-pointer to put UT back up 58-55 with 9:51 to go.
 
However that would be the final time the Blazers would lead as the Huskies rattled off a 14-2 run to take their biggest lead of the night at 69-60 with 4:45 left. UW guard Keyon Menifield nailed a clutch 3-pointer late in the shot clock, while Braxton Meah threw down consecutive alley-oop dunks, as the duo combined to score eight of UW's 14 points. 

Pope stopped the Washington run with a lay-up and free throw, but the Huskies, who hit nine of their last 11 from the floor and all four free throws down the stretch, kept Utah Tech at bay the rest of the way to escape with the hard-fought win. 

Numbers to know
Christensen finished with a game and career-high 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting. The sophomore forward also tallied four rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes. 

Meanwhile Pope hit 5-of-9 from the floor en route to a season-high 13 points off the bench. Pope hit a pair of 3-pointers and pulled down five boards. Gooden added nine points and co-led the team with seven rebounds.  
 
Utah Tech shot 40.6 percent from the floor (26-of-64), and was 7-of-24 from the perimeter (.292). UT went 8-of-14 at the line (.571), but was only 1-of-3 at the stripe in the second half.
 
UT outrebounded Washington 38-25, 15-4 on the offensive glass, and turned the ball over a season-low eight times.   
 
Menifield also scored 26 points to lead the Huskies, with 15 of those points coming in the second half. Menifield knocked down 9-of-14 from the floor, 4-of-6 from 3-point country.  
 
Washington shot 55.1 percent (27-of-49) on the night, including a sizzling 60.0 percent clip (12-of-20) from the perimeter. 
 
The game was delayed over 25 minutes at the 7:44 mark of the second half due to a shot clock malfunction.
 
Up next
Utah Tech continues its season-long seven game road trip with its second-straight game against a PAC-12 opponent, that being at No. 12/14 Arizona this Thursday night in Tucson. Tip-off inside the McKale Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. (MT).