Game Notes: UTAH TECH - PDF | THE MASTER'S
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OPENING TIP: Utah Tech (5-5/0-0 WAC) continues its five-game holiday homestand this Saturday night vs. The Master's University (9-3). Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is slated for 7 p.m.
 
UTAH TECH VS. THE MASTER'S: Saturday night's game vs. The Master's will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Mustangs on the basketball court.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Five Trailblazers scored in double figures as Utah Tech opened is five game Holiday homestand with a decisive 99-58 win over Chapman University last Friday night inside the Burns Arena.  
          The Trailblazers, who trailed just twice on the night, used a pair of big runs on their way to a 51-29 halftime lead.
          UT turned an early 14-12 deficit into a commanding 31-17 advantage midway through the first half on the strength of a 19-3 run. 
          Chapman managed to end the drought with consecutive Cruz Billings buckets, but Utah Tech outscored the Panthers 20-7 over the final 8:21 of the frame to take that 22-point cushion into the locker room.
          Utah Tech never saw its lead dip below 20 points in the second half as the Blazers cruised to their second-straight victory. 
 
HI MY NAME IS...: The Trailblazers began the 2022-23 season with a new institutional name - Utah Tech University. 
          This past July 1, the university re-branded to the new moniker, replacing "Dixie State University," while the "Trailblazers" nickname remained in place. 
 
NEW RADIO HOME OF UT ATHLETICS: 
          Along with the new name, Utah Tech University Athletics announced in July a new five-year multimedia agreement with Canyon Media Corporation. 
          Beginning this fall through the 2026-27 season, all Trailblazer football and men's basketball games, including comprehensive pregame and post game coverage, will be broadcast live on The Fan Sports Network (99.5/95.3 FM in St. George; 93.1 FM/1400 AM in Cedar City).
          The agreement will also feature select coverage of several other Trailblazer Athletic events throughout the year.
 
AND A NEW VOICE: In conjunction of the new radio home announcement, longtime Utah sportscaster Rod Zundel was introduced as director of broadcasting and multimedia content for Trailblazer Athletics, and will serve as the new radio voice for football and men's basketball.
          Along with complete radio coverage, Zundel will host "The Jon Judkins Coaches Show" every Tuesday night on The Fan Sports Network at 6 p.m. He will also oversee the production of several weekly Trailblazer student-athlete, coach and team online video feature stories, along with other digital content throughout the year. 
          Joining Zundel court side at home and select road games this season will be former UT assistant coach and current athletic administrator Mike Olson. 
 
TRAILBLAZERS PICKED 12TH THE WAC: Utah Tech was voted to finish 12th by both the coaches and the media as the WAC announced its 2022-23 conference men's basketball preseason polls back on Oct. 17. 
          Grand Canyon swept the top spot in both polls, collecting eight first place votes and 135 points in the coaches' poll. Meanwhile, defending WAC tournament champion New Mexico State garnered three first place nods and 127 points to place second in the coaches' poll, and was the second choice among the media.
          In fact, the top-five spots in both polls were identical as Stephen F. Austin (Coaches' – 111 pts) placed third, while Abilene Christian (Coaches' – 101 pts) and California Baptist (Coaches' – 96 pts) each received one first-place vote to finish fourth and fifth, respectively. 
          The rest of the coaches' poll listed Seattle U (91 pts) in sixth, Utah Valley (85 pts) in seventh, Sam Houston (79 pts) in eighth, WAC newcomer Southern Utah (66 pts) in ninth, Tarleton State (47 pts) in 10th, WAC rookie UT-Arlington (31 pts) in 11th, Utah Tech (29), and UTRGV (16 pts) rounded out the poll in 13th. 
          Sam Houston and Seattle U tied for sixth in the media poll, followed by UVU, SUU, UTA, Tarleton, Utah Tech and UTRGV. 
          No Trailblazer player was voted to either the coaches or media preseason teams. GCU junior guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. was tabbed as the preseason Player of the Year in both polls. 
  
JUDKINS NOW NO. 1 IN UTAH: Head Coach Jon Judkins became the all-time winningest head coach in Utah collegiate basketball history last season with career victory No. 583 in UT's 114-49 home rout of SAGU-AIC (12/15/21).
          Judkins moved past legendary Utah head women's basketball coach Elaine Elliott (582-324) atop the state's all-time coaching victories list (men's and women's). That list also includes a pair of former Utah Tech (then Dixie State) coaches in Dave Rose (1990-97 before moving on to BYU) and Stan Watts (1941-45 before moving on to Utah), along with such names at Stew Morrill (Utah State) and Rick Majerus (Utah). 
          Judkins currently owns a 595-297 (.667) overall record during his time at both Utah Tech and Snow (UT) College (1992-2005; 284-128).
          Coach Judkins became the first men's coach in Utah collegiate basketball history to reach the 500-win plateau when UT defeated Hawai'i Hilo (81-72) back on January 28, 2017.
 
CHALK UP ANOTHER MILESTONE WIN FOR COACH...: Coach Judkins also reached his second career milestone one game later when he won his 300th game as Utah Tech head coach in Blazers' 78-69 victory at North Dakota (12/18). 
          Coach Judkins is currently 311-169 (.648) in 17-plus years at Utah Tech, including a 291-157 (.649) mark in the program's NCAA era.
 
...AND A NEW CONTRACT EXTENSION: Utah Tech and Coach Judkins agreed to a five-year contract extension in September that will keep the longtime Trailblazer mentor on the Burns Arena sidelines through the 2026-27 season. 
          Along with all the victories, conference championships and NCAA D-II Tournament appearances, Judkins has coached 44 all-conference selections, including 19 first team honorees, and two conference players of the year (Trevor Hill – PacWest 2017-18, Jack Pagenkopf – RMAC, 2019-20). In addition, he has had seven players collect all-region recognition, and two players – Zach Robbins (2014-15 D-II Bulletin Honorable Mention) and Hill (2017-18 NABC First Team) go on to earn All-America honors.  
          Meanwhile in the classroom, Judkins has had a combined 120 student-athletes earn academic all-conference recognition since 2009-10, with three of those student-athletes – Josh Fuller (2016-17 second team), Brandon Simister (2017-18 second team) and Hunter Schofield (2020-21 second team/2021-22 first team) garner CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. 
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Since joining the NCAA ranks in 2006-07, Utah Tech has played to a 152-42 (.783) overall record in the Burns Arena under Head CoachJon Judkins, which includes a 2-0 start to the 2022-23 campaign, along with a 10-6 home mark last season. 
          Prior to the home opening win vs. CSUN (11/12), UT's last home win was an 80-75 overtime thriller vs. in-state rival Utah Valley (2/19), which clinched the Trailblazers' ninth 10-plus win home season in its NCAA era, and the first as a newly-minted D-I program.                  
          In addition, the UVU win was also the 150th NCAA home win (150-42; .781) in the Jon Judkins era.  
          The Blazers went 5-7 in their Division-I debut season in 2020-21, this after UT posted a 12-2 record in its final D-II year in 2019-20. That 2020-21 record snapped a 13-year streak that saw Utah Tech finish above .500 at home. The last time the program did not finish with a home winning record was UT's first NCAA season in 2006-07, when the Blazers finished with a 2-5 home mark.  
          Utah Tech posted a perfect 12-0 record at home in 2009-10, and 11-1 records in consecutive seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17. 
 
HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Utah Tech improved to 140-116 (.547) in 256 games away from home in its NCAA era under Coach Judkinsafter the Weber State victory back on Dec. 3. That mark includes a 111-94 record (.541) in true road games, and a 29-22 mark (.568) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure. 
          Utah Tech has already matched its away from home win total from last season (3-5 overall) after going 3-4 on its just completed seven-game road swing. Last year, UT played to a 3-12 (3-11 in true road games) record away from home last season, which included a five-game skid to close out the year. 
          UT finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 3-6 overall road mark, which snapped an 11-year run that saw the program post a winning road record. The last time Utah Tech did not come away with a winning road record was all the way back in the 2007-08 season, when it went 4-11 away from home in the program's second year of Division-II competition. 
          UT has won eight or more games away from home in 11 of its previous 16 NCAA campaigns overall, including a program best 15-5 record (10-2 in road contests) in 2010-11. 
 
AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: Following last Friday's win vs. Chapman, Utah Tech is now 93-82 (.531) all-time against non-conference opponents in 16-plus seasons of NCAA competition, highlighted by a program-best nine wins in 2010-11 (9-4), eight wins in 2008-09 (8-7), and seven victories in 2012-13 (7-4).
          Utah Tech won six of its last seven non-conference games last season to finish the year with a 7-6 mark against non-WAC opponents. That late Blazer kick helped clinched their ninth winning non-conference season overall during its four-year era, which also includes a 4-3 record in their D-I debut in 2020-21. 
 
WORKING OVERTIME: Utah Tech is 21-13 (.617) all-time in overtime games in its NCAA era, which includes a win in its lone OT affair last season, a thrilling 80-75 WAC victory over Utah Valley (2/19/22). That overtime win came nearly two years to the day of the Trailblazers' last OT game, which did not end as well as UT dropped a 105-97 decision at Colorado Christian (2/22/20) during its final D-II season. 
          Four of those 34 games have gone to double-overtime (2-2), the last was a 79-75 loss at Cal Poly Pomona (11/10/17) in the 2017-18 season opener. 
 
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN....BANG: Utah Tech has hit at least one 3-pointer in 151-straight games, which includes a season-high 13 treys vs. Chapman last Friday, and 12 3-pointers at Utah State (12/1).
          Last season, the Trailblazers nailed a school-record 21 treys in its 114-49 blowout win over SAGU-American Indian College (12/15/21).
          That record was one of five 3FG school records to fall that night as the Blazers also broke records for first half 3FGM (10), second half 3FGM (11), and for 3FG attempted (37). In addition, 11 different Trailblazers hit at least one 3-pointer, which was another school record.
          UT has reached double figures in made 3-pointers three times though 10 games this season, this after doing it only four times last year, including a three-game stretch in December that culminated with its school record night. UT also made a WAC season-high 12 treys in the home OT win vs. UVU (2/19/22). 
          In all, Utah Tech has hit at least one three pointer in 352 of its last 354 games overall, and in 446 of the program's 450 NCAA-era games, which began in the 2006-07 season, with 27 total games of at least 10 3FGM.
          
RELEASE...ROTATION...SPLASH: Utah Tech attempted 20 or more 3-pointers six times this season, including a season-high 32 at Arizona (11/17), and 31 more last Saturday vs. Chapman.
          UT took 20 for more 3-pointers 23 times last season, including a WAC season-high 31 3FGA (12-of-31; .387) vs. Utah Valley (2/19). In fact, UT broke the school record for attempted 3-pointers with 698 in 31 total games last season, which bested the previous record of 565 set in 30 games during the 2019-20 season. 
          Meanwhile, UT also broke its single season 3FG made record last year with 219 makes (219-of-565; .387), eclipsing the previous record of 205 also set in the 2019-20 campaign. 
 
BLAZING TRAILS:
* - Senior guard Cameron Gooden has picked up right where he left off from last season as he is averaging a team-best 16.6 ppg through his first 10 starts this year.
* - Gooden has led or co-led the Blazers in scoring six times and has scored in double figures in eight of 10 games overall, highlighted by a career-high 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting (5-of-7 3FG) at Utah State back on Dec. 1 ... Gooden scored 20 of those 29 points in the first half, and he finished with five assists and pulled down three rebounds ... Meanwhile Gooden's nine made field goals and five 3-pointers also tied career highs.
* - Gooden's career night marked the third time in his last five starts that he tallied 20 or more points, which included his previous career high of 27 in UT's road win at Idaho (11/19).
* - Gooden filled the stat sheet in the Blazers' home win over Chapman last Saturday, going 8-of-13 from the floor en route to a co-game high 19 points along with season highs of six assists and four steals. 
* - Gooden also had the shooting touch going at North Dakota (11/25), pouring in a game-high 22 points on 8-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the foul line ... the senior guard tallied a team-high 17 points, five assists and a career-best eight rebounds in the CSUN home win (11/13).
* - Gooden has scored in double figures in 41 of his 62 career games (all starts) with 10 20-plus point outings, and has led the team in scoring 34 times overall ... Gooden has also moved into seventh place on UT's career scoring list (12.9 ppg). 
* - Sophomore guard Noa Gonsalves also got into the act vs. Chapman as he poured in a career-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 5-of-8 effort from the perimeter ... Gonsalves' five 3-pointers were a career high, and in the process became the 16th different Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to hit at least five 3-pointers in one game. 
* - Gonsalves' career night eclipsed his previous career high of 15 points set at Utah State (12/1), which bested the 13 points he scored at both Nevada (11/7) and at Arizona (11/17), as he has scored in double figures in five of his 10 starts overall to this point of the season. 
* - Senior forward Dancell Leter tied a career high with 17 points off the bench at USU (12/1), with 13 of those points coming after halftime ... Leter went 5-of-6 from the floor and 6-of-8 at the foul line, and added four boards, three assists and two steals to his final stat line.
* - Leter's 17 points at USU are the most he has scored on the road in his year-plus as a Trailblazer, and matched his career high of 17 he scored in last year's home game vs. Weber State (11/27/21).
* - Leter also enjoyed a solid night in the Chapman win as he went for 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting with four boards and two steals off the bench.
* - Sophomore F/C Tanner Christensen flirted with a triple-double at Weber State (12/3) as he finished with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting along with eight rebounds and a UT career high five assists ... Christensen threw down three dunks on the Wildcats and now has 10 dunks on the season.
* - Christensen put on a show at Washington (11/14), going for a game and UT career-high 26 points in nearly 35 minutes ... the sophomore scored UT's first eight points and had 16 of the team's 25 points as Blazers' opened up a 25-17 lead 12-plus minutes into the first half ... Christensen, who hails from Spokane Valley, Wash., finished the night 11-of-17 from the floor with four rebounds and three assists in his return to his home state.
* - Christensen enjoyed another "Homecoming" at Idaho (11/19) as he hit on 4-of-6 from the floor for 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds in the win ... Christensen played two seasons in Vandals' program from 2020-22 before transferring to Utah Tech ahead of this season. 
* - Christensen posted his first Trailblazer double-double with team highs of 13 points (on 6-of-7 shooting) and 10 rebounds vs. CSUF (11/26), and dished out four assists for good measure ... the sophomore big man just missed out on his second double-double as he went for nine and nine in last Friday's win over Chapman.
* - Junior guard Isaiah Pope continued his solid play since becoming a starter five games ago as he hit for a season-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting at Weber State (12/3) ... Pope then followed that up by tying career highs with seven rebounds and five assists to go with 10 points vs. Chapman. 
* - Pope was inserted into the starting lineup for both games in North Dakota and responded with 12 points against both UND (11/25) and CSUF (11/26) ... Pope has now scored in double figures in seven of 10 games to this point of the season.
* - Not to be outdone, senior forward Jacob Nicolds has also started in UT's last five games and has averaged 7.6 points on nearly over 58 percent shooting. 
* - In fact, Nicolds has had the hot shooting touch over his last four starts, having hit on 13 of his last 18 (.722) shot attempts (4-of-6 3FG) and 7-of-9 (.777) at the foul line, including a perfect 3-of-3 (1-of-1 3FG) from the floor and 4-of-4 at the charity stripe for 11 points in the Weber State win (12/3) ... Nicolds was also a perfect 5-of-5 with a 3-pointer for 11 points in the CSUF victory (11/26).
* - Junior forward Frank Staine regained his shooting touch in the Chapman win as he knocked down three 3-pointers on his way to a season high 14 points ... Staine connected on 5-of-7 from the floor and picked off his seventh steal of the season, and the 88th of his career, which is currently good for sixth on UT's career steals list. 
* - Staine also stands fifth in program history in career 3FGM (118), fourth in career 3FGA (368) and ninth in 3FG% (.356). 
* - After Utah Tech's bench was outscored by the Nevada (11/7) reserves by a 34-23 count in the season opener, the Trailblazer reserves had outscored their next four opponent reserves by a combined 98-31 count, including a 25-3 clip at Idaho (11/19) ... however that number took quite the hit as North Dakota's bench outscored UT's reserves by a whopping 42-5 spread (11/25), while the Utah State bench enjoyed a 49-19 scoring edge (12/1).    
* - Utah Tech's bench was also outscored by a slim 19-17 count at Weber State (12/3), but came back to outscore the Chapman reserves 35-8 last Saturday ... to date the Blazer bench owns a 211-186 scoring advantage through 10 games, and has outscored their opponents' reserves six times overall this season.
* - Last season the Blazer bench posted a 699-652 point margin (22.5 ppg-21.10 ppg), and outscored its opponents bench 15 of 31 games (with two ties) overall last season.
* - Utah Tech has had five players score in double figures in four of its last seven games, including last Saturday vs. Chapman, and on back-to-back occasions at both Arizona (11/17) and Idaho (11/19), which marked the fifth time in its NCAA era, and the first time since beginning its Division I transition, that Utah Tech achieved that feat.
* - Prior to those Arizona/Idaho games, the last instance came in the 2016-17 season when the Blazers did it in back-to-back road games at Hawai'i-Hilo (2/16/17) and at BYU-Hawai'i (2/18/17). 
* - Utah Tech shot a season-best 54.1 percent (40-of-74) from the floor in the Chapman win, which followed up a 52.0 percent (26-of-50) effort a week earlier at Weber State (12/3) ... the 74 shot attempts vs. Chapman were also a season high.
* - Since the 2016-17 season, Utah Tech has shot 50 percent or better in just 53 of its last 172 games overall, though the Trailblazers have done it four times through 10 games this season.
* - In fact, the Blazers shot better than 50 percent only four times in 31 games last season. 
* - Also dating back to the 2016-17 season, Utah Tech has had 79 of its last 175 games decided by nine points or less, including 21 of 62 games to this point of the program's Division I transition.
* - Utah Tech's 99 points in the Chapman win marked the first time in just over one calendar year that the Trailblazers finished the game in the 90s (97 vs. Saint Katherine; 12/4/21).
* - Utah Tech dished out a season-high 24 assists on its 40 made field goals vs. Chapman, which are the most helpers recorded since UT racked up 25 dimes in game one vs. Bethesda last season (11/30/21) ... The Blazer defense also picked off a season best 16 steals, which is the fourth-most in a single game in the program's NCAA era, and two shy of the school record of 18 set in game two vs. Bethesda last season (12/1/21). 
* - Coincidentally, Utah Tech scored 99 points in both games vs. Bethesda last season.
* - Utah Tech's 41-point victory over Chapman is the sixth-largest margin of victory in the program's NCAA era, and is the second-largest during its Division-I transition. 
* - After being outrebounded in its first two games of the season, Utah Tech has won the rebounding battle in six of its last eight games, highlighted by a decisive 38-25 rebounding margin at Washington (11/14), which included a 15-4 edge on the offensive glass ... UT also outrebounded Chapman by a 42-28 count (15-5 offense), and posted a 30-22 edge on the glass at Weber State (12/3).   
* - Last season the Trailblazers won the "Battle of the Boards" in 15 of 31 games (10-5), this after they were outrebounded 12 times in 21 games in their D-1 debut in 2020-21 ... overall, Utah Tech has outrebounded an opponent in 96 of its last 148 games going back to the 2017-18 campaign. 
 
ABOUT THE MASTER'S "MUSTANGS": The Master's University, which is an NAIA program from Santa Clarita, Calif., comes to St. George with a 9-3 record and riding a five-game winning streak. In fact, the Mustangs are 4-0 on the road (5-0 including neutral court), including road wins last week at Life Pacific (95-62; 12/8) and Hope International (89-78; 12/10). . 
          The Master's features four starters averaging double figures, led by sophomore forward Kaleb Lowery (6-8) who is averaging a double-double at 13.6 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. Meanwhile, graduate guard Christian Sweazie (6-0) is the Mustangs' top 3-point threat (42-of-98; .429) and is second in scoring at 12.9 ppg.  
 
UP NEXT: Utah Tech will quickly turn around and host Westmont College two nights later on Monday, Dec. 19. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is slated for 7 p.m.