(Missoula, Mont. - Nov. 24, 2024) - Four Trailblazers finished in double figures on Sunday afternoon in a 89-79 loss to CSUN in the opening game of the Stew Morrill Classic hosted at the Dahlberg Arena.

"The first half we were sharing the ball and we played hard. Our offense was clicking with 50 points. Hakim (Byrd) had a great game and played relaxed," head coach Jon Judkins said.

Utah Tech (1-5) was led in scoring by redshirt senior guard Hakim Byrd with 23 points on 5-of-8 shooting, knocking down 4-of-5 from three-point range, and sank all nine of his free throws attempts to go along with two assists and a steal.

Other Trailblazers in double figures were Noa Gonsalves with 15 points, Samuel Ariyibi with a career-high 14 points and Britton Berrett added 10 points, three rebounds and an assist off the bench.

How It Happened
The Trailblazers got off to a strong start jumping out to a 7-0 lead after a three-pointer from Byrd got the scoring started followed by field goals by Ariyibi and Gonsalves.

The Blazers pushed their lead to 12 at 29-17 after a three-pointer by Berrett from the left-corner, but went cold from the field over the next two-and-half minutes as CSUN (4-1) roared ahead with a 13-0 run to take a 30-29 lead.

Continuing to go back-and-forth, CSUN knotted the contest at 35 apiece with a layup, but a trey from Byrd put UT ahead by three as the Blazers did not trail the remainder of the half.

A three-pointer by Gonsalves with just under two minutest to play put the Trailblazers ahead by double digits (46-36) as they took a 10-point halftime lead to the locker room.

The Matadors opened the second half on a 9-0 run to close the Blazers' lead down to one, but UT answered back with a 7-0 run of its own to go ahead, 57-49.

A pair of free throws by Justin Bieker extended the Trailblazers lead to 13 (64-51), but a 19-5 run over the next four-and-half minutes gave the Matadors the lead back at 70-69.

Two free throws from Byrd pushed the Blazers back in front, 73-72 with 7:18 to play, but that was the final lead of the contest for UT as the final six points of the afternoon came from the charity stripe.

Numbers to Know

• The 50 first-half points were a season high for the Trailblazers and the most since scoring 56 in a 93-56 win at home over Seattle U on March 1, 2023.
• Byrd set a new career high in Division I action surpassing his previous career high of 20 points set at Manhattan on Dec. 19, 2020 while playing for Marist.
• Ariyibi also set a new career high with his 14 points, doubling up his previous career best of seven points set earlier this season against New Mexico State, and added a career-high three blocks.
• Gonsalves has now scored in double figures in five of six games this season and played in his 100th career game at Utah Tech on Sunday.
• Tennessee Rainwater led the Blazers with a career-high four assists as UT matched their season high with 16 assists as a team.
• Utah Tech shot a season-best 44.0 percent (22-50) from the field, 37.0 percent (10-27) from three-point range and 92.6 percent (25-27) from the free-throw line. The 10 made three-pointers and 25 made free throws were both season highs.
• The Trailblazers led in fast break points (7-5), but CSUN held the edge in points off turnovers (18-9), second chance points (13-10) and bench points (39-16).

Up Next
The Trailblazers are back for day two of the Stew Morrill Classic on Monday night taking on Montana (2-3) at 5:45 p.m. on ESPN+ and The Fan Sports Network.