Utah Tech rallied late but came out on the short end of a 75-71 home loss to Tarleton on Saturday night inside the Burns Arena. 

How it happened 
Utah Tech (11-15/3-10 WAC) jumped out to an 11-7 lead on the strength of a 3-of-3 start from the perimeter, including a pair of Noa Gonsalves 3-pointers, while Jacob Nicolds also knocked down an early trey.
 
However that hot start was nothing compared to the start the Texans (14-12/7-6 WAC) got off to as they hit eight of their first 10 shots with three threes of their own to bolt to a 20-14 advantage nine minutes into play.
 
The Trailblazers clapped with six unanswered points to wrestle the lead back at 21-20 after an Isaiah Pope trey, but Tarleton answered with a 14-3 run to extend to a 35-24 lead with just under four minutes to play in the first half.
 
UT went nearly six full minutes without a field goal over that stretch before Cameron Gooden knocked down a three to trim the Texan lead to single digits with 3:30 left in the period.
 
The Blazers' deficit did not stay in single digits for very long as Tarleton would close the stanza with a 10-5 spurt on its way to a 45-32 advantage at the halftime break.
 
Tarleton blistered the nets in the opening frame, shooting nearly 74 percent (17-of-23) from the floor, and 70 percent (7-of-10) from the perimeter.
 
The Texans would extend their lead to as many as 18 points in the early going of the second half, and maintained a double-digit advantage most of the period.
 
Trailing 60-45 with under 10 minutes to play, Utah Tech managed to get back into the game thanks to a 13-3 run that made it a two-possession game at 63-58 with 2:35 to play.
 
Frank Staine drained two 3-pointers to kick start the rally, while seven more Blazer points came at the foul line. 
 
Meanwhile the Trailblazer defense forced two Texan shot clock violations and four total turnovers, while holding Tarleton with a field goal for nearly 10 full minutes. 

Utah Tech got as close as four points on a couple of occasions in closing moments, but Tarleton hit on 8-of-10 at the foul line to escape with the road win. 


Numbers to know
Dancell Leter led three Trailblazers in double figures with a career high-tying 17 points off the bench, with 10 of those points coming in the final 2:35 of play, including a pair of late 3-pointers to keep his side within striking distance of retaking the lead.
 
Nicolds added 13 points on 3-of-3 shooting with a 3-pointer and a 6-of-8 effort at the line.
 
Gonsalves hit his first three 3-point attempts in the first half, but was limited to just two points after halftime to finish with 11 points. Gonsalves' three made treys did vault him into fifth place on Utah Tech's single season 3-pointers made list (53). 
 
Gooden was held to just nine points, though he did manage to dish out five assists, which moved him into sixth place on UT's career assists list (255). 
 
Staine also tallied nine points on 3-of-6 from the perimeter, and in the process became the program's all-time leader in three-point attempts (142-of-392). 
 
Utah Tech went 19-of-43 (.442) from the floor, which included an 11-of-27 (.407) clip from beyond the arc. The Trailblazers also shot a WAC season-high 84.6 percent (22-of-26) at the foul line and outrebounded the Texans by a 25-22 count. 

Freddy Hicks led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting with three treys. Tarleton struggled from the field in the second half (5-of-14; .357), though the Texans finished the night shooting nearly 60 percent (22-of-37; .595). 
 
Saturday night's loss marked the second time in as many games that Utah Tech was felled by a 75-71 score, which was also the final of last Wednesday night's loss at Seattle U. 
 
Up next
Utah Tech opens a three-game road swing with an WAC in-state showdown at Southern Utah next Friday night, Feb. 17. Tip-off inside the America First Event Center in Cedar City is set for 7 p.m.