Game Notes: UTAH TECH - PDF | SFA
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OPENING TIP: Utah Tech (13-18) will make its "WAC Vegas" debut this Tuesday night as the 11th-seed in the 2023 Hercules Tires Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. 
            The Trailblazers will open tournament play against No. 6 seed Stephen F. Austin (19-12). Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. (PT), inside the Michelob ULTRA Arena at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas.
            Tuesday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+, and for live streaming and scoring information, visit UtahTechTrailblazers.com.
 
ABOUT THE 2023 WAC TOURNAMENT: The first round of the 2023 Hercules Tires Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, consisting of four games, will be played on Tuesday inside the Michelob ULTRA Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort. 
            Meanwhile, Thursday's (March 9) four quarterfinal round games, Friday's (March 10) two semifinal games, and Saturday's (March 11) WAC championship game will be played at the Orleans Arena. 
            All preliminary round games of the tournament will air live on ESPN+, with Saturday's championship game airing live on ESPN2 at 8:30 p.m. (PT).
 
UTAH TECH VS. SFA: Utah Tech is 0-2 in its brief series with SFA, which includes an 85-72 home loss this past Jan. 12 in the Burns Arena.
            Last season, the Lumberjacks handed the Trailblazers a decisive 81-52 road loss in Nacogdoches, Texas (2/5/22). 
 
ALL-TIME IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS: Not only will Utah Tech be making its WAC tournament debut on Tuesday, it will be playing in its third different conference postseason tournament since becoming an NCAA program in the 2006-07 season.
            During their Division II era, the Trailblazers made six Pacific West Tournament appearances from 2012-18, and won the PacWest tourney title twice in 2013 and 2018.
            Utah Tech also played in two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tourney appearances, and served as the host for the 2020 RMAC Tournament as regular season champions in its final D-II season. 
 
CHALK UP ANOTHER MILESTONE WIN FOR COACH...: Head Coach Jon Judkins earned his 600th career coaching victory in UT's home triumph over New Mexico State back on Jan. 21, one of many career milestones the longtime Trailblazer mentor has passed over the last couple of years. 
            Last season, he became the all-time winningest head coach in Utah collegiate basketball history last season with career victory No. 583 in UT's 114-49 home rout of SAGU-AIC (12/15/21).
            Judkins moved past legendary Utah head women's basketball coach Elaine Elliott (582-324) atop the state's all-time coaching victories list (men's and women's). That list also includes a pair of former Utah Tech (then Dixie State) coaches in Dave Rose (1990-97 before moving on to BYU) and Stan Watts (1941-45 before moving on to Utah), along with such names at Stew Morrill (Utah State) and Rick Majerus (Utah). 
            Judkins currently owns a 603-310 (.660) overall record during his time at both Utah Tech and Snow (UT) College (1992-2005; 284-128).
            Coach Judkins became the first men's coach in Utah collegiate basketball history to reach the 500-win plateau when UT defeated Hawai'i Hilo (81-72) back on January 28, 2017.
 
ONE MORE JUDKINS MILESTONE WITHIN REACH THIS WEEK: Coach Judkins goes into Tuesday's WAC tournament game vs. SFA one victory shy of his 300th NCAA-era win at Utah Tech. Judkins is officially 299-170 (.637) since his program made the transition from junior college to NCAA Division II status in 2006-07, though the program did record its 300th NCAA win last Wednesday night vs. Seattle U (300-171; .637).
            That night, coincidentally, was Judkins' 500th game as Utah Tech head coach. He is currently 319-182 (.636) in 17-plus years at Utah Tech, which includes a 20-12 mark in the program's last junior college season in 2005-06.  
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Since joining the NCAA ranks in 2006-07, Utah Tech has played to a 159-47 (.772) overall record in the Burns Arena under Head Coach Jon Judkins, which included a 9-5 mark this season.
            In fact, thanks to their home win over SUU (2/4), the Trailblazers secured their 15th winning home record in 17 seasons of four-year competition. 
            Last season Utah Tech played to a 10-6 home mark, which clinched the Trailblazers' ninth 10-plus win home season in its NCAA era, and the first as a newly-minted D-I program.              
            The Blazers went 5-7 in their Division-I debut season in 2020-21, this after UT posted a 12-2 record in its final D-II year in 2019-20. That 2020-21 record snapped a 13-year streak that saw Utah Tech finish above .500 at home. The last time the program did not finish with a home winning record was UT's first NCAA season in 2006-07, when the Blazers finished with a 2-5 home mark.  
            Utah Tech posted a perfect 12-0 record at home in 2009-10, and 11-1 records in consecutive seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17. 
 
HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Utah Tech is 141-124 (.532) in 265 games away from home in its NCAA era under Coach Judkins. That mark includes a 112-102 record (.523) in true road games, and a 29-22 mark (.568) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure. 
            With its win at UTRGV (2/23), Utah Tech picked up its first, and only, WAC road win of the year (1-8), and it was the Blazers' third road win overall (3-13). The three road wins this season matched the win totals from both last year (3-11) and in UT's Division-I debut season in 2020-21 (3-6).  
            That 2020-21 road mark snapped an 11-year run that saw the program post a winning road record. Prior to that season, the last time Utah Tech did not come away with a winning road record was all the way back in the 2007-08 campaign, when it went 4-11 away from home in the program's second year of Division-II competition. 
            UT has won eight or more games away from home in 11 of 17 NCAA campaigns overall, including a program best 15-5 record (10-2 in road contests) in 2010-11. 
 
WORKING OVERTIME....IN FEBRUARY: Utah Tech is 21-14 (.600) all-time in overtime games in its NCAA era after its OT loss at UT Arlington (2/25). 
            That loss came nearly a year-to-the-day since the Trailblazers' last overtime affair, a thrilling 80-75 home WAC victory over Utah Valley (2/19/22). 
            Meanwhile, that overtime win last season came nearly two years to the day of the Trailblazers' last OT game, which did not end as well as UT dropped a 105-97 decision at Colorado Christian - in February (2/22/20) - during its final D-II season. Utah Tech has played seven OT games in February during its NCAA era, which is second only to 11 overtime games in the month of January. 
            Four of those 35 games have gone to double-overtime (2-2), the last was a 79-75 loss at Cal Poly Pomona (11/10/17) in the 2017-18 season opener. 
 
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN....BANG: Utah Tech has hit at least one 3-pointer in 170-straight games, which included 10 made threes in the Seattle U win last Wednesday, and a season-high 14 treys vs. Lindenwood (12/22). The 14 treys vs. Lindenwood were the third-most in a single game in the program's NCAA era
            Last season, the Trailblazers nailed a school-record 21 treys in its 114-49 blowout win over SAGU-American Indian College (12/15/21).
            That record was one of five 3FG school records to fall that night as the Blazers also broke records for first half 3FGM (10), second half 3FGM (11), and for 3FG attempted (37). In addition, 11 different Trailblazers hit at least one 3-pointer, which was another school record.
            UT has reached double figures in made 3-pointers 12 times this season, this after doing it only four times last year.
            In all, Utah Tech has hit at least one three pointer in 373 of its last 375 games overall, and in 467 of the program's 471 NCAA-era games, which began in the 2006-07 season, with 34 total games of at least 10 3FGM.
 
RELEASE...ROTATION...SPLASH: Utah Tech broke its single-season record for made 3-pointers when Frank Staine hit the Blazers' last trey in the final seconds at Seattle U (2/8). UT has now hit 269 3-pointers this year (269-of-705; .382), which eclipsed the previous record of 219 set last year in 31 games.
            UT broke the record in 130 fewer attempts (568), while the 705 total attempts this season bested the previous school record of 698 set last season. 
            The Blazers have attempted 20 or more 3-pointers 22 times this season, including a season-high 32 at Arizona (11/17), and 24 more at UT Arlington (6-of-24; 2/25). In addition, Utah Tech currently leads the WAC in 3FGM/game (8.7 - t-52nd nationally) and third in 3FG% (.382).
 
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN....CLANG??!!: For just the second time in the program's NCAA era, Utah Tech held an opponent without a 3-point field goal as Abilene Christian went 0-of-6 from the perimeter back on Jan. 28. The last time that happened came at home during 2020-21 season against Saint Katherine (0-of-18; 12/5/2020).
 
NO DOUBLE UP ON DEFENSE: Utah Tech's defense also did something in last Wednesday's home win over Seattle U that it had not done in more than seven years – it held an opponent without a double-digit scorer. 
            Four Seattle U players finished with nine points on the night, including guard Cameron Tyson, who went into that game as the WAC's second-leading scorer (18.4 ppg).
            The last time Utah Tech held an opponent without a double-digit scorer came during the 2015-16 season in a home win vs. Notre Dame de Namur (1/14/16). 
 
THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE: Utah Tech is among the nation's leaders, albeit unofficially, at getting to the foul line this season. Through 29 games, UT is "ranked" sixth in free throw attempts per game at 24.1 FTA/G, and is t-11th nationally with 748 total attempts and t-19th in free throws made with 525. 
            The reason why it is unofficial - is because Utah Tech is not eligible to be listed in the national rankings during its four-year NCAA Division-I transition period. 
 
SEEING 20/20/20: For the first time since beginning its Division I transition, and for the third time in the program's NCAA era, Utah Tech had three players score at least 20 points in the road loss at GCU back on Jan. 18.
            Junior guard Isaiah Pope led the way with a career-high tying 25 points, while junior forward Frank Staine poured in a career-best 21 points. Sophomore forward Tanner Christensen also got into the act as he matched Staine with 21 points of his own. 
            Utah Tech achieved that feat two other times during its Division II run, the first coming at home in a 93-91 win over Chaminade (2/12/15), when DeQuan Thompson (22 pts), Mason Sawyer (21 pts) and former All-American Zach Robbins (20 pts) led the Blazers to victory.
            Fast forward nearly two years later when former All-American Trevor Hill (25 pts), Brandon Simister (23 pts) and Kyler Nielson (20 pts) did it in a narrow overtime loss at Azusa Pacific (104-103; 12/10/16). 
            Utah Tech has also had 24 instances during its NCAA of two players scoring 20 of more points in one game, including the Blazers' win vs. New Mexico State (1/21). Prior to the NMSU game, the last occurrence came during the 2020-21 season against, coincidentally, Grand Canyon (1/22/21). 
 
GOODEN EARNS WAC POSTSEASON HONORS: Senior point guard Cameron Gooden was voted Second Team All-WAC on Sunday night.
            Gooden finished the regular season ranked in the WAC's top-10 in scoring (5th; 16.1 ppg), field goal percentage (2nd; .466), free throw percentage (6th; .800) and 3-pointers made (7th; 50 – 1.92 3fgm/g). The senior also wound up 11th in the conference in assists (3.38 apg) and 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.29).
            The senior missed the first five games of the 2023 calendar year due to injury, but picked up right where he left off. Gooden is averaging 16.7 ppg since his return to action 12 games ago, which is near his overall team-best season average, highlighted by a WAC career-high tying 26 points in the home win over SUU (2/4).
            Gooden then matched that with 26 points in the UTRGV (2/23), which marked the third time since his return that he 26 points in one game. He also did it on the road at Abilene Christian (1/28).
            In fact, in the four games played in his home state of Texas this season, Gooden averaged nearly 20 points a game (19.75 ppg), which included 10 points in his first start back from injury at Tarleton (1/26).
            Gooden enjoyed a perfect shooting night in the Seattle U win, going 4-of-4 from the floor with two 3-pointers and 7-of-7 at the line en route to 17 points. 
            Despite missing those five games, Gooden has led or co-led the Trailblazers in scoring a team-high 14 times this season and has scored in double figures in 21 of 26 games played overall. The senior has scored 20 or more points six times, highlighted by a career-high 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting (5-of-7 3FG) at Utah State back on Dec. 1.
            Over his three years as a Trailblazer, Gooden has scored in double figures in 54 of 78 career games with 13 20-plus point outings, and has led the team in scoring 42 times overall. 
            Gooden also became the ninth Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to join the 1,000-point club (1,018) at UTRGV (2/23). The senior is already ranked fourth all-time on UT's career scoring list (13.4 ppg), and stands fifth in career assists (267), sixth in free throws made (271), and seventh in career steals (93) and 3-pointers (106).
 
POPE ALSO SEEING 20/20....AND 20....AGAIN: Pope's 25 points at GCU (1/18) started a string of three-straight games the junior guard had scored more than 20 points. He followed that performance up with 23 points in the home win over NM State (1/21), before going off for a career-high 27 points at Tarleton (1/26).
            In fact, Pope scored 19 of his 27 points in the second, and finished the game going 8-of-13 from the floor with a season-high five 3-pointers (5-of-7 3FG), and became the fourth different Trailblazer to hit five 3-pointers in a game this season, and he was 6-of-7 at the foul line. 
            Then after battling through a five-game stretch that saw him held to single digits in points, and foul out three times, Pope erupted for a game-high 24 points at SUU (2/18). Pope followed that up with 18 points, seven boards and five assists at UTRGV (2/23), and went for a game-high 22 points with four 3-pointers in the Seattle U victory last Wednesday.
            Pope averaged 14.3 ppg in WAC play this season and scored in double figures in 10 of 18 conference games overall.
            Pope was inserted into the starting lineup 26 games ago in North Dakota and responded with 12 points against both UND (11/25) and Cal State Fullerton (11/26). He has now scored in double figures in 19 of 31 games to this point of the season, and is averaging 13.9 ppg since moving into the starting lineup. 
 
POPE IN RARE COMPANY: Pope became just the sixth Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to score 20 or more points in at least three-straight games.
            His former teammate, Hunter Schofield, was the last to do it when he rattled off a four-game streak last season (1/15-29/2022), and he also posted a three-game streak during the 2019-20 campaign. 
            Former Blazer big man and former assistant coach Kasey Winters was the first to do it back in the 2007-08 season, while former UT swingman Tom Whitehead did it in both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. Former guard Trevor Hill placed his name on the list thanks pair 30-point games in during his All-American campaign in 2017-18, as did Matt Conway in the 2018-19 season. 
 
GOING...GOING...GONSALVES: Sophomore guard Noa Gonsalves had a night in Utah Tech's win over NM State (1/21), going off for a career-high 24 points, along with four rebounds and three assists in a game high 38-plus minutes. 
            The sophomore sharpshooter connected on 7-of-12 from the floor with a career-high tying five 3-pointers (5-of-9 3FG), which marked the third time this season that Gonsalves had knocked down five treys in a game.
            Gonsalves' 24 points eclipsed his previous career high of 19 points set against both vs. Lindenwood (12/22) and Chapman (12/9) last month. In the Lindenwood win, he drilled his first five 3-point attempts (5-of-6 3FG) and pulled down four rebounds. 
            That effort virtually matched his night vs. Chapman, against which he scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 5-of-8 effort from the perimeter. That night the sophomore became the 16th different Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to hit at least five 3-pointers in one game. 
            Gonsalves has scored in double figures in 12 of his 30 games this season, including going for 11 points with three more made 3-pointers vs. Tarleton (2/11). The sophomore now has an 56 made 3-pointers on the year, which is good for t-third on UT's single season list and leaves him needing only 12 more trifectas to break the season mark of 67 set by former Blazer point guard Brandon Simister during the 2017-18 season. 
 
STAINE MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Like Pope, Staine also had a solid second half at GCU (1/18), scoring 13 of his career-high 21 points after halftime with three made 3-pointers. The junior's previous career high was 20 points, which he hit twice, the last coming just over three years ago vs. UC-Colorado Springs (1/3/20).
            Staine, who was playing in his 100th-career game, hit on 7-of-11 from the floor, including a red-hot 5-of-8 from the perimeter.
            The junior (966 career points) also poured in 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting at Seattle U (2/8), and currently stands in 10th place on UT's career points list.
            Staine (414 3FGA) connected on 3-of-6 from the perimeter vs. Tarleton (2/11) and in the process became the UT program leader in 3FG attempted. He also became the Utah Tech career leader in starts when his name was announced in last Friday's regular season finale vs. GCU. 
            In addition, he second in career 3FG made (147), third in games played (112) and career steals (119), eighth in rebounds (405), and tenth in career 3FG% (.355).
 
SEND IT IN BIG FELLA: Christensen posted his team-leading fourth double-double of the year, and the third on the road, with 10 points and a career-high tying 14 rebounds at UT Arlington (2/25). He then chased that with 19 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting with a 3-pointer last Wednesday vs. Seattle U. 
            The sophomore tied his WAC career high with his 21 points in the SUU home win on Feb. 4, which was his fourth 20-point game of the season. Christensen went 9-of-12 from the floor with seven rebounds and two assists. He also threw down three dunks in that win, and he currently leads the team with 30 dunks on the year. 
            Christensen poured in 21 points at GCU (1/18), 16 of which came in the first half to help keep Utah Tech in the game. His 21 points at GCU were the most since he scored 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting to go with eight rebounds and five assists in UT's road win at Weber State (12/3). 
            The sophomore also posted his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds at Tarleton (1/26), while at CBU (1/5) he racked up game highs of 17 points and 14 rebounds. His 14 boards were a career high and also the most by a Trailblazer player in the program's new NCAA D-I era, and he also blocked one shot at CBU, all while not committing a personal foul.   
            Christensen put on a show at Washington (11/14), going for a game and UT career-high 26 points in nearly 35 minutes. The sophomore scored UT's first eight points and had 16 of the team's 25 points as Blazers' opened up a 25-17 lead 12-plus minutes into the first half. Christensen, who hails from Spokane Valley, Wash., finished the night 11-of-17 from the floor with four rebounds and three assists in his return to his home state.
 
NICOLDS IS RED-HOT: Well it took him 116 career games to do it, but senior forward Jacob Nicolds finally cracked the 20-point plateau at SUU (2/18), going for a career-best 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting and a perfect 5-of-5 at the line. His 22-point night eclipsed his previous career high of 18 points set in the UTRGV home win back on Dec. 29. 
            In that win, Nicolds connected on 6-of-7 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers and went 4-of-4 at the line, and just missed his second career double-double as he finished with nine rebounds. 
            Nicolds (120 games) made a little history when his name was announced in the starting lineup at Seattle U (2/8) as he became Utah Tech's career leader in games played list with appearance No. 114. The senior moved past former Trailblazer All-American Trevor Hill, who played in 113 games over his four seasons from 2014-18. 
            The senior responded with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers and three rebounds, then followed that up with 13 points on 3-of-3 shooting and 6-of-8 at the line vs. Tarleton (2/11).  
            Nicolds has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 11 games overall, including a 14 points last Friday vs. GCU. 
            Like Pope, Nicolds has also started in UT's last 26 games and has averaged 11.1 ppg in those outings. In fact, Nicolds has had the hot shooting touch over his last 25 starts, having hit on 95 of his 151 (.629) shot attempts (31-of-60 3FG; .516) and 66-of-88 (.750) at the foul line.
            Nicolds will suit up for the final time in the Burns Arena this week, and he enters his collegiate tournament not only as UT's all-time leader in games played, as he is also seventh in career FG% (.544) and rebounds (426). 
 
BLAZING TRAILS:
* - Utah Tech posted season-highs in both field goal percentage (.608, 31-of-51) and 3-point percentage (.556; 10-of-18), and went 21-of-25 (.840) from the foul line for good measure. 
* - UT's shooting night marked just second time in the program's NCAA Division I transition that the Trailblazers shot better than 60 percent in a game (.632 vs. Bethesda; 12/19/20). 
* - Utah Tech knocked down 13 of its first 16 shots and wound up with season highs of 56 first half points on 66.7 percent (20-of-30) shooting. 
* - Since the 2016-17 season, Utah Tech has shot 50 percent or better in just 61 of its last 193 games overall, though the Trailblazers have done it 12 times this season.
* - In fact, the Blazers shot better than 50 percent only four times in 31 games last season. 
* - Also dating back to the 2016-17 season, Utah Tech has had 88 of its last 196 games decided by nine points or less, including nine of its last 13, and 30 of 83 games overall to this point of the program's Division I transition.
* - Utah Tech dished out a season-high 24 assists on its 40 made field goals in the Chapman (12/9), which are the most helpers recorded since UT racked up 25 dimes in game one vs. Bethesda last season (11/30/21) ... UT also collected 22 assists on its 33 made baskets vs. Lindenwood (12/22).
* - The Blazer defense also picked off a season best 16 steals vs. Chapman (12/9), which is the fourth-most in a single game in the program's NCAA era, and two shy of the school record of 18 set in game two vs. Bethesda last season (12/1/21). 
* - After being outrebounded in its first two games of the season, Utah Tech has won the rebounding battle in 18 of its last 29 games, highlighted by a decisive 38-25 rebounding margin at Washington (11/14), which included a 15-4 edge on the offensive glass ... UT also outrebounded Chapman by a 42-28 count (15-5 offense), and posted a season best +23 rebounding margin (51-28) in the UTRGV home win (12/29).
* - In fact, Utah Tech's 51 rebounds vs. UTRGV were a season high and the most since the Blazers pulled down 52 rebounds against, coincidentally, UTRGV last season (1/22/22).
* - However UT's rebounding margin took a big hit in the UVU loss (2/2) as the Wolverines posted a +22 edge on the glass (47-25), which was the most of any opponent to this point of the season ... UT was also outrebounded by a 44-28 count at SUU (2/17), including a 15-6 clip on the offensive glass, which resulted in SUU outscoring UT in second-chance points, 20-6.
* - Last season the Trailblazers won the "Battle of the Boards" in 15 of 31 games (10-5), this after they were outrebounded 12 times in 21 games in their D-1 debut in 2020-21 ... overall, Utah Tech has outrebounded an opponent in 108 of its last 167 games going back to the 2017-18 campaign. 
* - Utah Tech has scored 2,340 points through 31 games this season, which is good for third on the program's top-10 single season list ... the Trailblazers need just 37 points to move into second place, and stand an even 100 points away from the school record of 2,440 points set in the 2019-20 season.  
 
ABOUT THE STEPHEN F. AUSTIN "LUMBERJACKS": SFA comes into Tuesday's game winners of four of its last seven, though the 'Jacks lost their final two games against the top two WAC teams last week. SFA fell in its home finale to tournament top-seed Sam Houston in overtime (64-59; 3/1) before suffering a lopsided 113-69 road loss at regular season champion and No. 2 seed Utah Valley (3/3). 
            SFA features four players averaging double figures, led by sophomore forward Sadaidriene Hall (6-5), who is the Lumberjacks' top scorer (13.1 ppg) and rebounder (6.7 rpg). Meanwhile, sophomore guard Latrell Jossell (5-11) is SFA's top 3-point threat (67-of-157; .427) while averaging 12.6 ppg.