Despite a single game school record tying 35 points from senior guard Cameron Gooden, No. 11 seed Utah Tech saw its NCAA Division I postseason debut come to a heartbreaking end on Thursday night in a hard-fought 76-75 loss to No. 3 seed Southern Utah in the quarterfinals round of the 2023 Hercules Tires Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at the Orleans Arena.

How it happened 
Gooden got it going early, scoring Utah Tech's (14-19) first six points to give the Blazers a quick 6-4 advantage.
 
SUU (21-11) would respond with nine-straight points as part of a 14-2 run to jump out to a commanding 18-8 lead after a Jason Spurgin dunk and free throw. 
 
Trey Edmonds ended the UT drought with an alley-oop dunk of his own on Spurgin, which ignited the Trailblazers as they methodically pared down the SUU lead to 27-24 after a Noa Gonsalves 3-pointer with 4:39 to go in the first half.
 
Gooden scored eight more points in the rally, while Tanner Christensen also threw down a dunk, as Utah Tech got up off the deck and clawed back into the game.
 
After a Tevian Jones trey put the T-Birds back up six, the Trailblazers went on a three-point barrage as Gooden, Jacob Nicolds and Gonsalves all hit perimeter jumpers. However it was a Frank Staine trifecta from the wing that gave Utah Tech the lead back at 36-34 with 2:05 left until halftime.
 
Gooden would knock down another jumper late in the period, but a Cameron Healy pull-up jumper just before the halftime horn gave SUU a slim 39-38 edge at the intermission.
 
The two sides punched and counterpunched through a second half that featured seven ties and six lead changes, though the Trailblazers looked as if they make a run when Nicolds and Gooden hit back-to-back threes to give Utah Tech its biggest lead of the night at 54-48 with 13:10 to go.
 
SUU would call a timeout, and the strategy worked as the T-Birds answered with six-straight points of their own to pull even at 54 all. 
 
With the game tied at 60-60 with under eight minutes remaining, Gonsalves and Christensen would score on consecutive possessions that bracketed a big UT defensive stop to make it a two-possession game. 
 
However Utah Tech could not build upon that lead as again both sides traded scores, until SUU managed to get a stop and tie the game for the final time at 70-70 with 2:12 to go.
 
SUU would take the lead for good when, after the Blazers were whistled for an offensive foul, Spurgin drove the lane for two, drew a foul, and completed the conventional three-point play to put his side up 73-70.
 
After SUU split a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game, Gooden drove the lane and scored to cut the deficit in half with 16 seconds left.
 
On the ensuing SUU inbounds play, Nicolds deflected the pass, recovered the loose ball and put up a shot in the paint, which drew a whistle. Unfortunately for the Trailblazers the foul went against Nicolds, which was the fourth offensive foul Utah Tech would be called for in the frame.
 
Forced to foul, the Blazers sent SUU guard Harrison Barnes to the foul line, where he hit both free throws to stretch the T-Bird lead to 76-72 with eight ticks on the clock.
 
Gooden took the inbounds pass, raced down court and fired up his 10^th 3-point attempt of the game. The ball caromed off the rim to the backboard and back on to the rim, where it hung just long enough to allow for the final horn to sound before falling through the net as the game, and the Trailblazers' season, came to a heartbreaking end. 
 
Numbers to know
Gooden scored 20 of his career high 35 points in the first half, which was also a career high in a first half. The senior guard went 14-of-20 from the floor with four 3-pointers, and collected four rebounds and two assists in his final start.
 
Gooden's 35 points were the most points scored in a game during Utah Tech's current NCAA D-I transition. Meanwhile, he tied the record first set by former UT All-American Trevor Hill, who tallied 35 points in a win over Eastern New Mexico during the 2017-18 season (99-89; 11/17/17). 
 
Gooden also became the sixth player in program history to score 1,100 career points, finishing his with 1,108 points. The senior also wound up with 475 points this season, which vaulted him from ninth to third on UT's single season points list.
 
In addition, Gooden wrapped up his stellar three-year career at Utah Tech fourth in career scoring average (13.8 ppg) and starts (79), fifth in career assists (274), and sixth in field goals made (360), 3-pointers (111), free throws made (279) and steals (94).
 
Nicolds and Pope chipped in eight points in their final games at Utah Tech, as did Gonsalves, while Staine filled the stat sheet with five points, seven rebounds and five assists in his final game as a Trailblazer.
 
Staine finished his career as UT's leader in starts (94), in second in games played (114) and career 3-pointers (150), and third in career steals (121).
 
Nicolds closed his five years at Utah Tech as the career leader in games played (122), sixth in field goal percentage (.542) and seventh in rebounds (.438), while Pope finished seventh career free throw percentage (.782) and 10^th in career 3-pointers (82). 
 
Utah Tech owned virtually every statistical edge in the game as the Blazers shot 53.8 percent from the floor (28-of-52), which included a 10-of-24 (.417) clip from the perimeter. UT also outrebounded SUU by a 33-27 count and collected 18 assists on its 28 made field goals.
 
However the Trailblazers were hurt by 17 turnovers that led to 21 T-Bird points. Nine of UT's 17 turnovers came on offensive foul calls, which matched the total number of miscues SUU committed. SUU also went to the line 25 times (18-of-25; .720), to UT's 12 foul shots (9-of-12; .750).
 
To their credit, the Thunderbirds had six players score in double figures in a balanced scoring attack, led by Spurgin with 18 points. SUU connected on 27-of-55 (.491) of its field goal attempts, though the T-Birds were just 4-of-21 (.190) from beyond the arc.