Isaiah Pope scored a game-high 24 points and Jacob Nicolds added a career-high 22, but it was not enough as Utah Tech dropped a hard-fought 81-71 decision at Southern Utah on Friday night inside the America First Events Center.

How it happened 
The rematch between the two WAC and in-state rivals lived up to all the billing in the early going as both side punched and counter-punched their way through the opening minutes of the game.
 
However the Thunderbirds (18-9/10-4 WAC) looked as if they would run away with the game thanks to a 13-4 run that turned a slim 10-9 lead into a 10-point cushion at 23-13 with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half.
 
SUU knocked down three 3-pointers in that four-minute stretch, which included eight-straight points. 
 
The T-Birds lead by as many as 11 at one point, but Utah Tech was able to make it a two-possession game when a Pope trifecta pared the SUU lead down to 35-31 with 1:24 to go in the period. 
 
SUU guard Tevian Jones would hit a three on the T-Birds' final possession to give his side a 38-31 advantage at the halftime intermission. 
 
Utah Tech (11-16/3-11 WAC) wasted little time getting back into the game as the Blazers scored seven-straight points to begin the second half to knot the score at 38-38. Tanner Christensen and Noa Gonsalves scored on consecutive UT possessions while Nicolds drilled a big 3-pointer to pull his side even.
 
Southern Utah ripped the momentum right back with eight-unanswered to reestablish its lead, only to see the Trailblazers respond with an 8-2 spurt thanks to threes from Pope and Nicolds to trim their deficit to 48-46.
 
Utah Tech would eventually take its second lead of the night at 53-52 on the second of two highlight reel dunks from Christensen with 8:45 to go.
 
Unfortunately for the Blazers that would be the last time they would be on top as SUU rattled off a decisive 17-5 run over the next four minutes en route to its largest lead of the night at 70-57 with 4:44 left. 
 
Utah Tech pulled to within seven at 70-63 after two Pope free throws with 2:54 remaining, but could not draw any closer as the T-Birds held on for the home win.
 
Numbers to know
Pope connected on 7-of-14 of his shot with a pair of 3-pointers, and went 8-of-9 at the foul line. The junior guard also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and dished out two assists.  
 
Nicolds scored 14 of his career-high 22 points in the second half to help keep Utah Tech in the game. The senior also hit on 7-of-14 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from the perimeter, and was a perfect 5-of-5 at the charity stripe on his way to the first 20-point game of his career. 
 
Gonsalves finished with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting with a pair of threes, and Christensen chipped in six points. 
 
The Trailblazers shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59) on the night, though they were held to just 8-of-26 (.308) from the perimeter. Utah Tech also posted a season-high 86.7 percent (13-of-15) clip at the foul line and turned the ball over just 12 times, which was the team's second-lowest total in WAC play this season.  

Jones led three Thunderbirds in double figures with 22 points. SUU went 26-of-63 (.413) from the floor with 11 made 3-pointers (11-of-25) and was 18-of-20 (.900) at the line. The T-Birds also outrebounded Utah Tech by a 44-28 count, including a 15-6 edge on the offensive glass, which led to 20 SUU second chance points (20-6). 
 
Up next
Utah Tech will close out the road portion of their 2022-23 schedule with its second trip to Texas for a pair of games next week. The Trailblazers will head to Edinburg for their return game at UTRGV on Thursday, Feb. 23, before wrapping up the road slate with their first-ever game against WAC newcomer UT Arlington on Saturday, Feb. 25.