Utah Tech saw a late second half rally come up short as the Trailblazers were handed an 85-74 home loss by Tarleton State on Thursday night in the Burns Arena. 
 
Tarleton ambushed the Trailblazers (10-18/6-11 WAC) right out of the gate, as the Texans hit seven of their first nine shots to race out to a 17-2 lead four-plus into the game. 
 
Utah Tech was able to right the ship, rattling of a 16-4 run over the next four minutes to trim the deficit to three points 21-18 after a Unisa Turay bucket. In fact, it was a total team effort to claw back into the game as five different Trailblazers scored in the rally. 
 
However the Texans (21-7/14-3 WAC) methodically built their lead back up to double digits over the final 10-plus minutes of the first half and enjoyed a comfortable 49-30 cushion at the halftime intermission.
 
Trailing 58-41 with under 15 minutes to play, Utah Tech mounted another charge, this time a 13-2 spurt to make it a two-possession game at 60-54 with 9:32 remaining. Hamed Olayinka accounted for seven of the Blazers 13 points, including five-straight to close the run.
 
Tarleton quickly countered with a Devon Barnes 3-pointer, and after a pair of Traivar Jackson free throws the Texans extended their lead back to nine to 65-56.
 
Utah Tech closed to within five at 70-65 following a Tennessee Rainwater bucket with 5:16 left, but again Barnes thwarted a possible Trailblazer rally with another perimeter jumper on Tarleton next trip down the court. 
 
The Texans would stretch their lead to 12 points and never looked back in sending the Trailblazers to their fourth-straight loss.
 
Noa Gonsalves led five Trailblazers in double figures with 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while Tanner Christensen added 14 points along with seven rebounds.
 
Turay added 12 points to go with a game-high five assists. Rainwater finished with 11 points, four caroms and two steals in his first collegiate start, and Olayinka wound up with 10 points and five boards. 
 
Utah Tech shot 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the floor, though the Trailblazers were just 4-of-16 (.250) from beyond the arc. The Trailblazers also struggled at the foul line, connecting on 18-of-30 (.600) from the stripe, and were outrebounded by a 36-33 count.
 
Jakorie Smith led all scorers with 24 points, while Barnes tallied 21 points and picked off six steals. Tarleton shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) for the game, and went 22-of-26 (.846) at the foul line. 
 
Utah Tech will put a bow on its 2023-24 home slate on Saturday night when the Trailblazers play host to Abilene Christian. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is set for 7 p.m. (MT).