Game Notes: UTAH TECH - PDF | UTRGV - PDF
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OPENING TIP: Utah Tech (8-5/0-0 WAC) wraps up its season long five-game homestand with its Western Athletic Conference opener vs. UTRGV this Thursday night. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is set for 7 p.m.
         
UTAH TECH VS. UTRGV: Thursday's game will mark the second time that both Utah Tech and UTRGV will meet in St. George since the Trailblazers joined the WAC in the 2020-21 season.
          UT moved to 1-2 all-time vs. the Vaqueros after an 85-74 home win this past January 22. 
          UTRGV swept both games played in Edinburg in 2020-21, as the Vaqueros welcomed the Blazers into the conference with a decisive 82-49 decision in game one (1/15/21), and completed the home sweep with a 72-65 win (1/16/21) the next night. 
 
LAST TIME OUT: Utah Tech pushed its season-long win streak to five-straight and closed its 2022-23 non-conference slate with a decisive 95-64 home victory over Lindenwood last Thursday.    
          UT 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 with just over eight minutes gone in the first half.
          Then after the Lions 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. 
          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.  
 
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. 
 
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 598-297 (.668) 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 (12/18/21). 
          Coach Judkins is currently 314-169 (.650) in 17-plus years at Utah Tech, including a 294-157 (.652) mark in the program's NCAA era.
 
...AND A NEW CONTRACT EXTENSION: Utah Tech and Coach Judkins agreed to a five-year contract extension this past 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. 
 
TWO MORE CAREER MILESTONES NOW IN SIGHT: Coach Judkins is closing in on two more milestones as he now stands just two victories shy of career win No. 600. The longtime Utah Tech mentor is also slated to coach in his 900th-career collegiate game when Trailblazers take to the Burns Arena floor vs. Sam Houston on Saturday, January 14. 
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Since joining the NCAA ranks in 2006-07, Utah Tech has played to a 155-42 (.787) overall record in the Burns Arena under Head CoachJon Judkins, which includes a 5-0 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.                  
          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 road win at 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: Thanks to last Thursday's win over Lindenwood, Utah Tech is now 96-82 (.539) all-time against non-conference opponents in 16-plus seasons of NCAA competition.
          Utah Tech finished its 2022-23 non-conference slate with an 8-5 record, which marked the third time in the program's NCAA era that the  Blazers have won at least eight non-conference games, while the eight wins are the most in the program's Division-I reclassification. 
          UT recorded a program-best nine wins in 2010-11 (9-4), along with eight wins in 2008-09 (8-7), and seven victories in 2012-13 (7-4).
          Overall, the Trailblazers have posted 10 winning non-conference season records during its four-year era, which includes a 4-3 record in their D-I debut in 2020-21, and a 7-6 mark last season. 
 
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN....BANG: Utah Tech has hit at least one 3-pointer in 154-straight games, which includes a season-high 14 treys last Thursday vs. Lindenwood. The 14 treys are the third-most in a single game in the program's NCAA era. 
          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 five times though 13 games this season, this after doing it only four times last year.
          In all, Utah Tech has hit at least one three pointer in 355 of its last 357 games overall, and in 449 of the program's 453 NCAA-era games, which began in the 2006-07 season, with 27 total games of at least 10 3FGM.
          
RELEASE...ROTATION...SPLASH: Utah Tech has attempted 20 or more 3-pointers nine times this season, including a season-high 32 at Arizona (11/17), and 31 more vs. Chapman (12/9).
          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 16.2 ppg and 3.7 assists through his first 13 starts this year.
* - Gooden has led or co-led the Blazers in scoring eight times and has scored in double figures in 11 of 13 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 is averaging 16.0 points on 53.6 percent shooting (22-of-41) during UT's current homestand, which includes game-highs of 19 points in the Chapman win (12/9), and 17 points vs. Westmont (12/19) ... the senior also tallied 13 points and dished out a season-high seven assists (with no turnovers) in the Lindenwood win last Thursday. 
* - Gooden has scored in double figures in 44 of his 65 career games (all starts) with 10 20-plus point outings, and has led the team in scoring 36 times overall.
* - Gooden (844 pts) surpassed the 800-point plateau in the win over The Master's (12/17), and now stands 14 points shy of moving into 10th place on UT's career points list ... the senior is already in seventh place on UT's career scoring list (12.98 ppg), and is eighth in career assists (227). 
* - Junior guard Isaiah Pope continued his solid play since becoming a starter seven games ago as he tallied a career-high 25 points and tied a career high with five dimes in the Lindenwood win ... Pope knocked down eight of his 13 shot attempts, including a 4-of-7 clip from the perimeter, and had three boards in just over 27 minutes of game action. 
* - Pope's career night eclipsed his previous season-high of 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting at Weber State (12/3), while he had 14 points and grabbed a career-best eight caroms vs. The Master's (12/17). 
* - 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 nine of 13 games to this point of the season, and is averaging 13.2 ppg since moving into the starting lineup. 
* - Sophomore guard Noa Gonsalves also got into the act vs. Lindenwood (12/9) as tied his career high with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting ... the sharpshooter also knocked down his first five 3-point attempts (5-of-6 3FG) and pulled down four rebounds. 
* - Gonsalves' effort vs. Lindenwood nearly matched his night vs. Chapman (12/9), against which he scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 5-of-8 effort from the perimeter ... Gonsalves' five 3-pointers that night were a career high, while he became the 16th different Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to hit at least five 3-pointers in one game. 
* - Gonsalves' previous career high scoring game came earlier this month in a 15-point night 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 seven of his 13 starts overall to this point of the season.
* - Not to be outdone, senior forward Jacob Nicolds has also started in UT's last eight games and has averaged 9.1 points on 65.8 percent shooting. 
* - In fact, Nicolds has had the hot shooting touch over his last seven starts, having hit on 26 of his last 35 (.743) shot attempts (9-of-12 3FG) and 10-of-13 (.769) at the foul line, including a perfect 5-of-5 (3-of-3 3FG) from the floor, and he hit his lone FT attempt en route to a season-high 14 points vs. The Master's (12-17) ... Nicolds was also a perfect 5-of-5 with a 3-pointer for 11 points in the CSUF victory (11/26), and went 3-for-3 with a trey and 4-of-4 at the foul line in road win at Weber State (12/3). 
* - Sophomore F/C Tanner Christensen filled the stat sheet with a season high 12 rebounds to go with six points, two blocks, one assist and one steal vs. Lindenwood last Thursday ... Christensen's two blocks marked the fourth time this season that the big man had at least two swats in one game.  
* - 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 13 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. 
* - 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 afternoon vs. Lindenwood as he tallied nine points, four boards, three assists and one steal in 16 minutes off the bench.
* - Junior forward Frank Staine tied a career high with five steals, which highlighted a 10-point, five-rebound effort vs. Lindenwood last Thursday ... the junior hit a pair of threes and went 3-of-6 from the floor in 15 minutes off the bench.
* - Staine regained his shooting touch in the Chapman win (12/9) as he knocked down three 3-pointers on his way to a season high 14 points.
* - Staine (810 pts), who also reached the 800-point plateau vs. The Master's (12/17), stands fifth in program history in career 3FGM (121), fourth in career 3FGA (334) sixth in steals (93) and ninth in 3FG% (.362). 
* - 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 (12/9), and The Master's bench by a 36-17 count ... to date the Blazer bench owns a 299-246 scoring advantage through 13 games, and has outscored their opponents' reserves eight 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.
* - In fact, all 14 Trailblazers who saw time in the home win over The Master's (12/17) scored at least two points ... sophomore guard Hagen Wright led the Blazer reserves with a career-high nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, while freshman guard Trevon Snoddy posted career highs of six points and four rebounds ... Wright followed that up with five points and a career-high two steals vs. Westmont (12/19).  
* - Utah Tech has had five players score in double figures in four of its last 10 games, including the Chapman win (12/9), 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 (12/9), which followed up a 52.0 percent (26-of-50) effort a week earlier at Weber State (12/3).
* - UT then made it three-straight games by shooting 53.3 percent (32-of-60 vs. The Master's (12/17), which marked the first time in the program's brief D-I era that the Blazers have shot better than 50 percent in three consecutive games. 
* - The last time Utah Tech shot north of 50 percent in three-straight games was during the 2019-20 season when the Blazers did it in four-straight games (2/22-3/6/20). 
* - Utah Tech posted season highs of 52 points and 64.5 percent shooting (20-of-31) in the first half vs. Lindenwood last Thursday ... UT 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.
* - Since the 2016-17 season, Utah Tech has shot 50 percent or better in just 55 of its last 175 games overall, though the Trailblazers have done it six times through 13 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 178 games decided by nine points or less, including 21 of 65 games to this point of the program's Division I transition.
* - Utah Tech's 42-point victory vs. The Master's (12/17) was the sixth-largest margin of victory in the program's NCAA era, and is the second-largest during its Division-I transition .. that winning margin eclipsed the previous season-best of 41 points, which was set eight days earlier in the home win over Chapman by nearly the exact same score (99-58; 12/9/22). 
* - The Trailblazers' 100 points vs. The Master's were the most this season and marked the first time UT had hit the century mark in points in just over one calendar year ... UT scored 114 points in a home win over SAGU-American Indian College (114-49; 12/15/21). 
* - Utah Tech dished out a season-high 24 assists on its 40 made field goals in the Chapman (12/9), which are the most helpers recorded since UT racked up 25 dimes in game one vs. Bethesda last season (11/30/21) ... UT also collected 22 assists on its 33 made baskets last Thursday vs. Lindenwood.
* - The Blazer defense also picked off a season best 16 steals vs. Chapman (12/9), 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). 
* - After being outrebounded in its first two games of the season, Utah Tech has won the rebounding battle in nine of its last 11 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 season best +16 rebounding margin (45-29) in the Lindenwood win last Thursday.  
* - 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 99 of its last 151 games going back to the 2017-18 campaign. 
 
ABOUT THE UTRGV "VAQUEROS": UTRGV travels to St. George on a bit of a roll, having won three-straight and six of its last eight en route to an 8-4 record through 12 games this season. UTRGV has not played since Dec. 18, when the Vaqueros topped Houston Christian in a 100-90 road barn-burner. 
          The Vaqueros boast two of the top-five scorers in the WAC to this point of the season, led by the conference's leading scorer in senior guard Justin Johnson (6-6) at 21.1 ppg. Johnson is also third in the conference in shooting percentage (.509) while averaging 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Meanwhile, sophomore guard Will Johnston (6-3) is fifth in the WAC in scoring (16.0 ppg) and seventh in assists (3.8 apg). 
          As a team, UTRGV is second in conference in scoring (84.2 ppg), and has scored 95 or more points in each of its last three victories. The Vaqueros lead the WAC in FG% (.513) and average 6.4 3FGM per game, along with 39.3 rpg and 16.8 assists per game. 
 
UP NEXT: Utah Tech will close out the 2022 calendar year on the road at WAC and in-state rival Utah Valley in a New Year's Eve matinee in Orem this Saturday afternoon. Tip-off inside the UCCU Center is set for 2 p.m.