(Painesville, Ohio – Nov. 18, 2023) Utah Tech men's basketball played on Saturday, defeating the Lake Erie Storm 81-79 at the Jerome T. Osborne Center. The result moves Utah Tech's 2023 record back to .500 at 2-2.
 
"We came out pretty good, got a lot of guys in the game and built that 20-point lead, but our opponents put pressure on us, got physical, and we backed down which got them back into the game," Head Coach Jon Judkins said. "It's our fourth game and there's things we need to get better on but guys kept their heads and made their foul shots which was nice to see. A win is a win but we've got to get home and get better."
 
The Trailblazers opened this one up with a quick 10-2 run, as Jaylen Searles scored a on a pull-up jumper near the elbow on the game's first possession. After a Searles dunk and Beon Riley triple, Utah Tech built a 13-point advantage at 18-6 with 14:16 remaining in the first half.
 
The Storm would fight back to bring the deficit to eight but UT proceeded to go on a 14-2 run fueled by Searles, Caleb Stearman and Tanner Christensen all scoring four points apiece to go with a Unisa Turay layup; Utah Tech held a 32-13 lead with 6:51 to go. Angelo Kambala would find his first points as a Trailblazer down the stretch of the first half as it was a 46-26 advantage at halftime.
 
After Searles and Riley traded buckets out of the break it would be Lake Erie who found some momentum, going on a quick 10-0 run to bring the game within 11 at 51-40 less than five minutes into the second half. Back-to-back buckets from Kambala and Turay would end the run but Lake Erie kept coming, connecting on a number of triples and bringing the game within seven points after a made layup with 10:44 on the clock.
 
Both teams traded scores over the next three minutes but another Searles bucket started yet another UT run, with the Trailblazers scoring eight-straight in a stretch that was capped by a Noa Gonsalves step-back jumper to put Utah Tech ahead, 69-54, with 5:59 remaining in the game. Though LEC would battle back and bring the game within 10, another 8-2 run would put the nail in the coffin as Utah Tech completed the 81-69 victory.
 
Searles' strong outing finished with a line of 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, with the 6-8 forward shooting 8-14 from the field and 3-4 from deep. Riley finished with a career-high 19 points thanks to a perfect 8-8 at the line, adding five rebounds and a steal while Aric Demings scored 10 points to go with three rebounds and two assists.
 
Tanner Christensen posted nine points and nine rebounds while Noa Gonsalves shot 3-7 from the field on his way to eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a team-high four steals; Caleb Stearman's career-high eight minutes played resulted in a line of six points and three rebounds while Kambala finished with four points in nine minutes of action.
 
"We gave (Angelo Kambala) the player of the game. He came in and gave us a spark, knows his stuff and I thought he played really well, gave us some good minutes, and Jaylen played better today than he did yesterday," Judkins said. "I thought (Caleb Stearman) also played well. Had a couple unforced turnovers that he's got to see on film but defensively he's pretty solid, made his foul shots and did some good things out there."
 
As a team Utah Tech shot 27-51 (52.9%) from the field, hitting five shots from deep and connecting on 22 of 26 free throws, good for an 84.6 conversion rate. The battle on the glass favored the Trailblazers who finished with a 38-26 advantage, while the bench chipped in 15 points and converted 13 steals into 20 points off turnovers.
 
UT returns to action next Friday, facing Washington State on the road.