(St. George, Utah – Dec. 16, 2023) Utah Tech men's basketball played Saturday night, falling 79-62 to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Burns Arena. With the result, Utah Tech's season record now sits at 5-6 with just two non-conference games remaining.
 
A Noa Gonsalves triple opened the game's scoring as North Dakota controlled the opening minutes of game action, forcing four Trailblazer turnovers and using an 11-0 run to take an 11-3 advantage into the first media timeout. After a quick stoppage in play, Tanner Christensen finished a Gonsalves feed to stop the run with 14:53 on the clock.
 
Tennessee Rainwater euro-stepped his way through the lane for a bucket before Hamed Olayinka free throws brought the game within 11 points at the under-eight media timeout, but UND continued to crash the offensive glass and force Utah Tech turnovers, taking a 40-21 lead into the halftime break.
 
When play resumed in the second half both teams put up buckets early, with several Trailblazers making highlight-reel plays. Olayinka took advantage of an open lane throw down a one-handed flush, while Christensen blocked his career high-tying fourth shot of the game by putting the UND shot attempt into Burns Arena's first row of seats.
 
David Elliott scored nine points in the second half alone but the visitors would claim a 79-62 victory.
 
Elliott finished with 11 points on 3-7 shooting from the field and 2-5 from deep, also shooting 3-4 at the line while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists in 18 minutes played. Gonsalves scored 10 points and dished out two assists, while Olayinka's night finished with a line of nine points, four rebounds and four blocks. Rainwater scored a career-high seven points to go with three boards and one steal in a career-best 17 minutes on the floor while Christensen tied a career-best mark for blocks with four to go with six points and five rebounds.
 
Caleb Stearman (seven points, two rebounds, one steal), Angelo Kambala (four points, one assist), Kade Madsen (two points), Stone Hutchings (two points, two steals) and Unisa Turay (two points, one rebound) all came off the bench, with Madsen's appearance being the first in his Utah Tech career.
 
As a team the Trailblazers shot 22-55 (40.0%) from the field, hitting four shots from deep and 14 at the line. The Trailblazers finished with a 34 points in the paint and 10 second chance points, while the bench combined to score 44 total points.
 
The Trailblazers are back in action next Thursday, facing the University of Colorado in a road game scheduled to tipoff at 5 p.m.; UT returns to Burns Arena on Dec. 30, hosting Florida International at 3 p.m.