(Missoula, Mont. - Nov. 26, 2024) - The Trailblazers closed out the Stew Morrill Classic on Tuesday afternoon with a 68-54 win over Denver at Dahlberg Arena.
"I saw some great improvement this week and these games will help us later in the season," head coach
Jon Judkins said after the victory.
Utah Tech (2-6) was led by a second consecutive double-double from senior guard
Beon Riley, who finished with 18 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
Noa Gonsalves added 15 points for his team-leading sixth double figure contest of the season while tying his career high with eight rebounds and added three steals.
Justin Bieker chipped in 11 points and four rebounds and
Samuel Ariyibi notched nine points and a block.
How It Happened
Getting off to a slow start to the first half, the Trailblazers fell behind 12-7 after the first four-and-half minutes of action.
A 7-0 run for Utah Tech pushed the Blazers in front, 14-12 after a layup by
Hakim Byrd, but Denver (3-5) came back with an 11-9 run to take a slim 24-23 lead with a 8:05 to play in the first half.
It was all Trailblazers from there, holding the Pioneers without a field goal for the remainder of the half, while going on a 16-5 run to close out the half and take a 39-29 lead at the break.
A layup from Bieker got the scoring started in the second half for UT, who led by nine or more for the entire half, and extended it to as many as 18 (68-50) after a pair of free throws by Byrd with just over a minute to play.
Numbers to Know
- Utah Tech improves to 3-0 all-time against Denver joining victories over the Pioneers in 2020 & 2021.
- Riley and Byrd were named to the All-Tournament Team.
- Riley notched two double-doubles in the tournament and averaged 14.0 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game. Byrd scored a Division I career high 23 points in the tournament opener against CSUN and averaged 12.3 points and three assists per game.
- Riley's back-to-back double-doubles are a first for a Trailblazer in the Division I era and it is the first time since Quincy Mathews did it at UC San Diego and vs. Cal Poly Pomona on Nov. 11 & Nov. 12, 2016.
- The 14-point win is the largest victory over a Division I team for the Trailblazers since a 17-point win at home over UTRGV on Feb. 1, 2024.
- The 54 points allowed were the fewest points an opponent has scored since Dec. 2, 2023 when UT held Utah Valley to 53 points in a 65-53 win in the 2023-24 home opener.
- The Trailblazers held an edge in points in the paint (36-24), fast break points (11-3), points off turnovers (12-4) and second chance points (9-8).
- Utah Tech also held a 35-30 advantage in rebounds, including 10-8 on the offensive boards.
Up Next
The Trailblazers continue their road swing this weekend making their way to Portland State (3-3) on Saturday for a 6 p.m. MT contest on ESPN+ and The Fan Sports Network.
