(Boulder, Colo. – Dec. 21, 2023) Utah Tech men's basketball played Thursday night, falling 98-71 to the Colorado Buffaloes at the CU Events Center. With the result, Utah Tech's record falls to 5-7 on the season with one final non-conference matchup scheduled for Dec. 30 at Burns Arena.
 
With Hamed Olayinka making his first start of the season, neither team started the game particularly well on the offensive end, as the Buffaloes scored the first points with 17:15 the clock thanks to a pair of free throws. CU then found some quick buckets, however, rattling off 10 unanswered points going into the under-16 media timeout.
 
Noa Gonsalves and Beon Riley got the Trailblazers on the board with back-to-back layups but the hosts extended their streak to nine buckets made consecutively, building out a 23-9 lead before Tennessee Rainwater converted an and-one with 9:40 on the clock.
 
Unisa Turay checked in and made an impact late in the first half, scoring six-straight points for the Trailblazers fueled by a pair of layups. At the same point, Colorado's hot scoring cooled off, though CU held a 46-25 lead at the break after Angelo Kambala connected on two free throws in the waning seconds of the first half.
 
Both teams would trade buckets early in the second half as Utah Tech connected on several shots from deep. Aric Demings and Gonsalves went back-to-back from range in the opening minutes of the second half, as the Trailblazer offense found some rhythm; the Trailblazers went on a 9-3 run that was capped by another Gonsalves triple with 12:31 on the clock.
 
The success from deep continued as the half progressed, with David Elliott hitting two more triples, the latter of which brought the score to 75-57 in favor of Colorado with 8:21 on the clock.
 
Tanner Christensen added to UT's improved offense with a dunk and blocked his third shot of the game with 4:06 on the clock, but the Buffalo offense persisted to ride out the 98-71 result.

Demings tied for the team-lead in points with 14, also adding one rebound and three assist while shooting 6-13 from the field across. Gonsalves' night finished with 14 points and two rebounds on 5-11 shooting, while Riley shot 5-9 from the field on his way to 10 points and two rebounds. Christensen scored six and blocked a game-high three shots as Kambala scored a career-high seven points in 13 minutes off the bench; David Elliott finished with six points and two steals.
 
As a team Utah Tech shot 28-63 (44.4%) from the field, hitting six shots from deep and nine at the line. Eight steals and four blocks led to 15 Buffalo turnovers that were converted into 14 points, while six offensive rebounds helped fuel 26 points in the paint. With seven reserves entering the game, the bench scored 24 points.
 
Trailblazer men's basketball returns to action at Burns Arena, with tipoff against FIU scheduled for 3 p.m. MT.