Who | Utah Tech (10-15, 6-8 WAC) vs. Seattle U (15-10, 8-6 WAC)
When | Saturday, February 17 / 7 p.m. (MT)
Where | Burns Arena (4,779) / St. George, Utah
Broadcast | ESPN+ / The Fan Sports Network 99.5 FM
Live Stats | vs. Seattle U
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UniteTheFamily / #IntoTheStorm

Utah Tech vs. Seattle U
            Utah Tech is 2-6 all-time vs. Seattle U, which includes a 70-53 road loss last month in Seattle (1/4/24). 
            Both Trailblazer wins in the series have come at home, the last being a 93-56 victory nearly one year ago (3/1/23), which snapped a four-game losing streak to the Redhawks. Utah Tech also claimed a 77-76 win in the first D-I match-up during the 2020-21 campaign (2/5/21).  
            The two sides also squared off in Utah Tech's first NCAA Division II season in 2006-07 in Seattle, where the Redhawks dealt UT an 87-70 road loss (12/29/06). 
 
Scouting the Redhawks
            Seattle U comes into Saturday's game clinging to third place in the WAC standings at 8-6, one-half game ahead of both California Baptist (7-6) and Stephen F. Austin (7-6) with three-plus weeks remaining in the regular season.
            The Redhawks have won five of their last seven games overall, including a 78-68 road win at Southern Utah this past Thursday night in Cedar City.
            Four Redhawks currently average double figures, led redshirt senior guard Cameron Tyson (6-2), who is the WAC's third-leading scorer at 17.1 ppg.
            Meanwhile, fellow senior guard Alex Schumacher leads the conference in assists (4.76 apg) and is t-ninth in the WAC in scoring at 14.2 ppg. 
 
Last Time Out
            Utah Tech gave homestanding Grand Canyon all it could handle and more, but the WAC-leading Lopes used a late-game run to hand the Trailblazers a 73-61 road loss last Thursday night in Phoenix.  
            The Trailblazers led 20-12 just nine minutes into play and owned a six-point cushion at 27-21 with 7:25 to play in the first half. 
            The Lopes then flipped the switch, outscoring Utah Tech 19-7 to close the period en route to a 40-34 halftime lead. 
            Utah Tech stayed within two possessions of GCU for most of the second half. However the Lopes would slowly pull away, eventually extending to a 65-55 lead with four minutes remaining. 
            Utah Tech managed to score only six more points the rest of the way and were held scoreless over the final 2:16 as the Blazers dropped their 11th road game of the season.
 
The March to 500
            Utah Tech will play in its 500th NCAA game when the Trailblazers travel to UT Arlington on Saturday, Feb. 24. 
            The Blazers are currently 311-187 (.624) all-time during their four-year era, which began in the 2006-07 academic year.
            In addition, Head Coach Jon Judkins will coach in his 500th career NCAA game in the home season finale vs. Abilene Christian on March 2. 
 
Searles Sweeps the WAC Weekly Honors
            Thanks to a pair of dominant performances last week, Searles swept the Western Athletic Conference's Player and Newcomer of the Week awards this past Monday.  
            Searles averaged 23.0 points on a combined 62.9 shooting (17-of-27), 2-of-7 (.286) from the perimeter, and 66.7 percent (10-of-15) at the line, in Utah Tech's two-game home sweep. In addition, he averaged 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 3.5 steal in his two starts.
            The junior began the week with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting with four rebounds, one block and three steals in Utah Tech's 70-68 triumph over in-state Southern Utah rival back on Feb. 8. 
            Searles then chased that with a career-high 33 points on 12-of-16 from the floor and 8-of-9 at the foul line to lead the Blazers to an 85-78 win over California Baptist last Saturday afternoon. He also pulled down a game-high eight boards, and had four assists and picked off a career-high four steals. 
            Searles' 33-point day tied for the fourth-most points scored in a game by a Utah Tech player in the program's four-year era. 
            In addition, his 33 points were also the second-most scored by a Utah Tech player in the program's NCAA Division I era, second only to former point guard Cameron Gooden's school record 35 points in his final game in the Trailblazers' WAC Tournament quarterfinal loss to SUU last season (3/9/23).
 
Life of Riley
            After missing the last six games due to injury, junior guard Beon Riley returned to action vs. Southern Utah (2/8) and picked up right where he left off with team-highs of 16 points and eight rebounds in the win.
            Riley, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half, connected on 7-of-12 from the floor, including a 6-of-8 clip in the opening frame, and had two assists and one steal in 29-plus minutes of action off the bench.
            The junior guard returned to the starting lineup last Saturday vs. CBU and responded with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting with four boards in 28 minutes vs. CBU before fouling out.
            Riley has scored in double figures in 13 of his 19 games played this season, including a season-high 21 points in Utah Tech's road win at CBU back on Dec. 6. 
 
Release-Rotation-Splash
            Junior guard Noa Gonsalves continued his climb up the Utah Tech 3-point charts with three more trifectas last Thursday night at GCU on his way to 13 points.
            Gonsalves has knocked down 10 3-pointers over his last five games, and in the process has vaulted into fifth place on Utah Tech's career 3FGM list (131). 
            In fact, the junior guard is only two treys away from moving up to fourth and now stands 36 made threes away from passing former Blazer guard Brandon Simister(166; 2012-18) to become the program's all-time leader. 
            Gonsalves has hit three or more trifectas eight times this season, highlighted by a single-game school record seven 3-pointers in the Blazers' home overtime victory over Florida International (12/30). He followed that up with four treys vs. Grand Canyon (1/6) and five more in the Stephen F. Austin home win (1/11).
            Gonsalves, who is currently fourth in the WAC in made threes (52; 2.08 3FGM/g), also became just the second player in the program's NCAA era to hit 50 or more 3-pointers twice in one season. Former guard Tom Whitehead was the first to do so with 56 in 2009-10, and 60 more one year later. 
            Gonsalves has also been near-automatic at the charity stripe, leading the team with an 82.9 percent clip (34-of-41) at the line, including a career-best 9-of-10 effort vs. UT Arlington back on Feb. 3. 
 
Double Your Pleasure
            Junior forward Tanner Christensen posted his sixth double-double of the season with a game-high 18 points points and team-high 10 rebounds at GCU on Thursday night. In fact, Christensen was five assists shy of a triple-double as he dished out a team-best five helpers.
            For Christensen, who racked up four double-doubles in his Blazer debut season last year, it was the 11th double-double of his collegiate career, which included one he recorded while at Idaho during the 2021-22 season.
            Christensen now has 12 double-digit rebound games in his near two years at Utah Tech and 17 overall during his collegiate career. He also needs just more four rebounds to become the ninth Trailblazer in program history to surpass 400 career rebounds. 
 
Block Party
            Sophomore forward Hamed Olayinka and Christensen have been jockeying back-and-forth for the team lead in blocked shots this season.
            Entering Saturday's game vs. Seattle U, the duo finds themselves ranked second (Olayinka 45) and fourth (Christensen 43) in the WAC in blocks, respectively. 
            Olayinka has led or co-led the Blazers in blocks 16 times this season overall, including two more blocks at GCU on Thursday night, while Christensen is two games back at 14 games. 
            Christensen is currently third all-time in program history in career blocks (69 in 57 games), while Olayinka (45 in 25 games) has already moved into seventh place on the career list. 
 
Hip-Hip-Turay
            Junior guard Unisa Turay poured in a career-high 14 points with three 3-pointers at GCU on Thursday night, with nine of those points coming after halftime to help keep the Blazers within striking distance.
            Turay's night eclipsed his previous career high of 12 points, which came on the road at Utah Valley (1/20) last month. 
 
What a Difference a Day Makes
            After shooting a paltry 62.5 percent at the foul line in win over SUU (2/8), Utah Tech connected on a season-best 91.7 percent (22-of-24) at the charity stripe last Saturday vs. CBU, which included a 17-of-19 clip in the second half.      
 
Something About (CB) U
            Utah Tech shot a season-best 61.2 percent (30-of-49) from the floor in last Saturday's win over CBU, which included a sizzling 70.4 percent effort (19-of-27) in the first half - also a season high.
            The Trailblazers' big day from the floor eclipsed their previous season highs in both overall (.588; 30-of-51) and first half (.680; 17-of-25) shooting percentages, which coincidentally were set in Utah Tech's road win at CBU this past December 6.  
 
What's Next
            Utah Tech will play the second of its two February road games next Saturday when the Trailblazers head to the Lone Star State for a afternoon tilt at UT Arlington.