Who | Utah Tech (5-3, 2-0 WAC) vs Idaho (5-4, 0-0 Big Sky)
When | Saturday, Dec. 9 – 7 p.m.
Where | Burns Arena – St. George, Utah
Broadcast | ESPN+ / 99.5 The Fan Sports Network
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UniteTheFamily / #IntoTheStorm
 
Scouting the Vandals
The Idaho Vandals have opened Head Coach Alex Pribble's first season leading the program with a 5-4 record, building momentum in recent days with back-to-back wins over Cal Poly (85-70) and University of the Pacific (83-53). Led by Quinn Denker's 11.4 points, the Vandals post four double-digit scorers while the team has out-scored opponents by 7.9 points per game this season.
 
This matchup has only happened once in program history, as Utah Tech went on the road to take an 81-71 victory last season. Noa Gonsalves (10 points, two rebounds, two steals) and Tanner Christensen (10 points, eight rebounds) both finished in double-figures as the Trailblazers shot 25-50 (50%) from the field, 9-24 (37.5%) from deep and 22-29 (75.9%) at the line.
 
A Quality Win
Utah Tech went into Riverside, Calif., with a two-game losing streak in the all-time series against California Baptist and came out with a big road victory, defeating the Lancers 72-69 for the team's 13th victory in 22 all-time matchups.
 
Despite building a lead as large as 16 early in the second half, the Lancers came racing back, bringing the game to within a single point with just 10 seconds left in the game. After turning the ball over and giving the hosts possession in a one-point game with less than 10 seconds remaining, Utah Tech's defense forced a five second call, before Beon Riley went to the line and sank two clutch free throws to seal the three-point victory.
 
Winning Streak
UT is currently playing its best basketball of the young season, winning three-straight games and four of the last five. Central to the success has been a strong defensive effort, as Utah Tech is holding opponents to just 64-176 (36.3%) from the field and 15-63 (23.8%) from deep across the three victories.
 
Though Utah Tech posted a five-game winning streak last year, three of those victories came against opponents who aren't D-I, making this current streak the most consecutive wins over Division-I opponents since the 2021-22 season, when the team posted consecutive victories over Lamar, UTRGV and Chicago State.
 
Scoring Threat
Beon Riley has continued to be a revelation for the Trailblazer offense early in this season, with the 6-6 guard/forward entering Saturday's game against Idaho as the team's second-leading scorer at 12.6 points per game. Across the three-game winning streak, Riley has posted games with 10, 17 and a career-high 21 points against CBU on Wednesday, resulting in an average of 16.0 per win.
 
He's finished with double-figure scoring in six of Utah Tech's eight games this season while leading the team in free throws made (32), free throws attempted (38) while his percentage of 84.2% leads all players who have attempted at least 10 shots at the line.
 
Put it on a Poster
Hamed Olayinka had the best game of his young Trailblazer career against CBU on Wednesday, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds and four blocks in 20 minutes played. Though he made a number of key plays, none made more noise than when the 6-9 Olayinka caught a Unisa Turay pass near the free throw line, took a gather step and threw down a vicious one-handed slam over the Lancers' 6-11 post standing just outside the restricted area.
 
With a number of dunks and big blocks, Olayinka was named Player of the Game by Coach Judkins after the game's conclusion.
 
Extended Time
Coming off the bench in seven games this season, Unisa Turay set a season-best mark for minutes played against CBU, playing 28 minutes and finishing with a line of 11 points on 4-5 shooting and five assists. The Phoenix, Ariz., native made some noise when he banked in a logo triple as the halftime buzzer sounded, capping a 15-2 run across the final 3:32 of play to build a 15-point lead at 41-26.
 
Turay now holds averages of 4.0 points, 1.4 assists and 0.9 steals across 11 minutes of action, shooting 40.7% from the field and 40.0% from deep.
 
2-0
Now in year four of its Division-I transition, Utah Tech has knocked out yet another first with victories over Utah Valley and California Baptist marking the first time in program history that a Trailblazer men's basketball program has started WAC play with a 2-0 record.
 
Clutch Plays
A key part of Utah Tech's win over CBU on Wednesday were a number of clutch plays late in the game. Jaylen Searles hit a pair of mid-range jumpers late in the shot clock with less than six minutes to play as CBU was mounting a late run. With his buckets, Searles extended a three-point lead to seven, finishing the game with 15 points and seven rebounds.
 
Noa Gonsalves has exactly one block on the season, though it was arguably the most important. With the Trailblazers holding a three-point lead, the Lancers found an open shooter in the far corner who released what would have been the game-tying shot with one second on the clock, but Gonsalves came flying through the air to block it and preserve the 72-69 victory; Gonsalves finished with seven points, two rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in the game.
 
How They Rank
Among the 109 players to record at least one rebound this season, Tanner Christensen (7.00 - eighth), Beon Riley (6.50 - 10th) and Jaylen Searles (6.00 - 15th) are among the WAC's elite in rebounding average... Gonsalves leads the conference in minutes per game at 35.8... Olayinka's 1.38 blocks per game ranks fifth... Riley's 84.2 free throw percentage is second among players averaging 2.5 FTM/Game... Aric Demings' 2.88 assists puts him tied for 12th.
 
Up Next
Trailblazer MBB returns to action Saturday, hosting Idaho. Tipoff at Burns Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.