Utah Tech could not overcome a cold shooting second half as the Trailblazers dropped a 67-52 decision at North Dakota on Friday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. 

How it happened 
Utah Tech (2-4/0-0 WAC) got off to another hot start, hitting on 7-of-10 from the floor to jump out to a quick 15-6 lead less than seven minutes into play.

The Trailblazers scored 12 of their 15 points in the paint, thanks in large part to five North Dakota turnovers, which led to eight Utah Tech fast-break points.
 
After a UND timeout, the Fighting Hawks rattled off 12-straight points as part of a 14-2 run over a three-minute span to erase the deficit and take a 20-17 advantage following a Brian Mathews dunk.
 
The two sides then battled back and forth before UND managed to score the final six points of the period and took a 34-29 lead into the halftime break. 
 
UT scored eight of the first 10 points to begin the second half to briefly regain the lead at 37-36 after a Cameron Gooden lay-up and free throw.

North Dakota (3-3) answered with a 10-2 spurt to open up its biggest lead of the day at 46-39 following a B.J. Omot dunk with exactly 15 minutes remaining.
 
Gooden then went on to score the next seven Blazer points to pull Utah Tech to within a bucket at 48-46 with 11:28 to go.
 
That would be as close as the Trailblazers would get as North Dakota put the clamps on defensively, outscoring Utah Tech 19-6 the rest of the way to cruise to the home win.  
 
Numbers to know
Gooden led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the foul line. 
 
Isaiah Pope, who made his first start of the season on Friday, added 12 points along with three steals and two assists. 
 
After opening the game hitting on 7-of-10 from the field, Utah Tech went 13-of-47 the rest of the way, including misfiring on 14 of its final 16 shot attempts over the final 11-plus minutes. 
 
UT finished the day with a season-low 35.1 percent (20-of-57) shooting clip and was just 3-of-18 (.167) from the perimeter.
 
Utah Tech also struggled at the line, connecting on a season-low 50.0 percent (9-of-18) at the stripe, and was outrebounded by a 36-27 count.  
 
Omot led three Fighting Hawks in double figures with 16 points. UND shot an even 50.0 percent (24-of-48) for the game, including a 5-of-16 (.313) clip from beyond the arc, and hit on 14-of-15 at the foul line. 
 
Up next
Utah Tech will close out its two-game trip to Grand Forks with a neutral-site contest against Cal State Fullerton on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. (CT).