Behind a career-high 25 points from Isaiah Pope, Utah Tech extended its winning streak to five-straight games thanks to a 95-64 triumph over Lindenwood on Thursday afternoon inside the Burns Arena.  

How it happened 
Utah Tech (8-5/0-0 WAC), which trailed for only 28 seconds in the game, used a pair of big first half scoring rallies en route to a commanding 52-24 halftime lead.
 
The Trailblazers scored 13-straight points as part of an 18-3 run to turn a slim 11-10 advantage to a 29-13 cushion following a Frank Staine left wing 3-pointer with just over eight minutes gone in the first half.
 
Then after the Lions (5-8) trimmed the UT lead to 32-19 with six minutes to play in the opening frame, the Blazers closed the half with a 20-5 spurt to take that 28-point lead into the intermission. 
 
Utah Tech shot a season-best 64.5 percent (20-of-31) in the first half, while the 52 points were also a season high.
 
UT would see that advantage balloon to as many as 44 points in the second half before settling for the final 29-point margin as the Blazers moved to 5-0 at home this season.  
 
Numbers to know
Pope scored 14 of his career-high 25 points in the second half. The junior guard connected on 8-of-13 from the floor, including a 4-of-7 effort from 3-point country. Pope also tied a career-high with five assists and added three rebounds and one steal to his final stat line.
 
Noa Gonsalves hit his first five 3-point attempts on his way to a career-high tying 19 points. The sophomore sharpshooter hit on 7-of-10 from the floor (5-of-6 3FG) to go with four boards and two assists.
 
Cameron Gooden scored in double figures for his team-leading 11^th time in 13 starts this season as he wound up with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Gooden also dished out a season-high seven assists (with no turnovers) and picked off one steal. Gooden (844 pts) also moved to within 14 points of cracking into Utah Tech's top-10 career points list.
 
Staine wound up with 10 points and five rebounds, and tied a career high with five steals in 15 minutes off the bench. 
 
Utah Tech shot 52.4 percent (33-of-63) for the game, which marked the fourth time in the last five games overall that the Trailblazers had shot better than 50 percent from the floor.
 
UT also hit on an even 50.0 percent (14-of-28 3FG) from the perimeter, the while the 14 made 3-pointers are the third-most in a single game in the program's NCAA era. The 14 made treys also marked the fifth time this season that Utah Tech has hit 10 or more 3-pointers in one game, this after only doing it four times all of last season. 
 
The Trailblazers went 15-of-20 (.750) from the foul line and dished out 22 assists on its 33 made baskets. The Blazers also outrebounded Lindenwood, 45-29, thanks to a season-high 12 boards from Tanner Christensen.
 
Chris Childs led three Lions in double figures with 15 points. Lindenwood shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the floor on the night and 9-of-26 (.346) from beyond the arc. 
 
Utah Tech finished its non-conference slate with an 8-5 record. The eight wins are the most in the program's brief NCAA Division I transition, while the Trailblazers clinched their 10^th winning non-conference season record overall during its four-year era (96-82; .539; 17 NCAA seasons).  
 
Up next
Utah Tech will wrap up its season long five-game homestand with its Western Athletic Conference opener vs. UTRGV next Thursday night, Dec. 29. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is set for 7 p.m.