(Seattle, Wash. – Jan. 4, 2024) Trailblazer men's basketball played on Thursday, falling to the Seattle Redhawks 70-53 at the Redhawk Center. The result moves Utah Tech's record to 6-8 on the season with a home game against GCU slated for Saturday evening.
 
"The ball was sticking – we weren't moving it and were trying to do too much on our own," Head Coach Jon Judkins said. "It's tough to say that because we've got guys that want to win so bad and do their thing but you can't beat a team by yourself, all five players have to be together… we'll bounce back."
 
Washington native Jaylen Searles returned to the starting five as Utah Tech controlled the game early. After an Aric Demings layup opened the game's scoring it was Tanner Christensen who put an exclamation point on an 11-5 run, slamming home a two-handed dunk with 13:58 on the clock.
 
Seattle U would battle back, however, unleashing a barrage of three-pointers to build a lead as big as five; Tennessee Rainwater then cut through the lane and finish strong at the hoop in the waning seconds of the first half to make it a three-point deficit, 28-31, at halftime.
 
Noa Gonsalves made layup on the second half's first possession as Demings soon shot Utah Tech into the lead, connecting on a wide open three-pointer from the top of the arc to put the Trailblazers ahead, 33-31, less than 60 seconds into the half. The Redhawks continued to ride their hot hand back to a six-point lead, but three Beon Riley free throws and a breakaway David Elliott dunk brought the game within one point at the 14:12 mark.
 
SU promptly responded with an 11-0 run that was ended by a Riley layup but the Redhawk offense continued to roll. Christensen started to find a groove late in the half, at one point scoring six-straight Trailblazer points, but the hosts took the 70-53 victory when all was said and done.
 
Christensen's night finished with a line of 16 points, two rebounds and one steal, while Riley scored 12 points on 4-8 shooting and 1-2 from deep. Searles scored seven and grabbed five boards while Demings finished with a line of five points, five rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in 22 minutes of action.
 
David Elliott (five points), Hamed Olayinka (four points, six rebounds, three blocks) and Tennessee Rainwater (two points, one rebound) added points off the bench while Unisa Turay finished with two steals in eight minutes played.
 
As a team Utah Tech shot 20-54 (37.0%) from the field, hitting four shots from deep and nine at the line. With 11 steals and four blocks, UT forced 14 Redhawk turnovers, converting those takeaways into 19 points off turnovers and 11 on the fast break while holding a 32-18 advantage in the paint.
 
The Trailblazers return to action Saturday, hosting Grand Canyon at Burns Arena. Tipoff against the Lopes is scheduled for 7 p.m.