(Cedar City, Utah – Jan. 18, 2024) Utah Tech men's basketball was in action Thursday night, falling 75-65 to rivals Southern Utah in a road contest. With the result, Utah Tech's record sits at 7-10 and 3-3 against WAC opponents.
 
With Unisa Turay making his first start of the season, the Trailblazers got out to an early lead thanks to some stifling defense. Hamed Olayinka blocked two early shots in the opening three minutes – including an emphatic one-handed spike – as a two-handed slam by Tanner Christensen put Utah Tech ahead 8-2 with 17:27 on the clock.
 
The hosts countered with a run of their own over the next six minutes, as an Aric Demings triple was countered by 10 Thunderbird points as SUU regained the lead with 10:18 remaining in the first half. Another Christensen bucket and Caleb Stearman layup kept the game within a single point just two minutes later.
 
Utah Tech would tie the game thanks to an Aric Demings Layup and emphatic dunk by Stearman with just over one minute in the half, but a late and-one by SUU put the Thunderbirds ahead by three at halftime.
 
Both teams would continue to trade buckets early in the second half. Noa Gonsalves cut the deficit down to just two points after converting an and-one with 17:24 on the clock; Gonsalves continued to find looks and added a triple five minutes later to increase his scoring total to a team-high 10 points entering the under-12 media timeout.
 
After SUU built a lead as large as 14, Utah Tech countered with an 8-2 run down the stretch of the game, bringing the deficit to eight after a pair of Christensen dunks, the latter of which connected with 4:50 on the clock and the Thunderbirds leading 60-52. Despite the late momentum, SUU was able to fight off the Utah Tech surge to take a 75-65 victory.
 
Jaylen Searles led all Trailblazers with 13 points (4-11 FG, 1-2 3PT), also adding seven rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block, while Gonsalves finished with 12 points and six boards. Christensen poured in 12 points on 6-10 shooting as Caleb Stearman set career-best marks in minutes (21), points (10), assists (two), and steals (two) while tying a career-high with six rebounds.
 
Aric Demings finished with five points as Turay's first career start finished with a line of four points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals; Olayinka finished with four blocks along with four points and three rebounds as Angelo Kambala (17 minutes), Tennessee Rainwater (eight minutes) and Trey Hall (seven minutes) rounded out the rotation.
 
As a team Utah Tech shot 40% from the field, hitting 14 shots at the line while dominating down low with a 36-22 advantage in points in the paint. With 10 steals and five blocks the Trailblazers forced 18 Thunderbird turnovers, converting those opportunities into 12 points off turnovers and five on the fast break. With the rotation running 10 players deep, the UT bench chipped in 20 points.
 
The Trailblazers are back in action on Saturday, facing Utah Valley in Orem.