(Seattle - Jan. 16, 2025) - A late second half rally by Seattle U tripped up the Trailblazers in their WAC road opener on Thursday night falling 82-62 to the Redhawks at the Redhawk Center.

"It is hard to win on the road and at the 12-minute mark, we were up one and they scored 38 points from there. It takes team defense and we were right there and they scored 50 points in the paint. Welcome to the WAC, it is difficult to win on the road," head coach Jon Judkins said after the game. 

Utah Tech (6-12, 2-1 WAC) had three Trailblazers tally double figures led by 17 points from senior guard Noa Gonsalves, who adding four steals, two rebounds and an assist.

Beon Riley posted 13 points & a team-leading six rebounds and Samuel Ariyibi chipped in 12 points for his sixth double digit game of the season.

Seattle U (7-10, 2-1 WAC) was led by 22 points and 15 rebounds from Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe while John Christofilis added 12 points and Paris Dawson tallied 11 points.

How It Happened
A pair of three-pointers and a free throw got the Trailblazers out to a 7-3 lead after the first five minutes of action.

Continuing to lead by a pair (12-10) halfway through the opening half, a layup by Riley and a jumper by Dallin Grant put the Trailblazers ahead, 16-14.

A 12-0 run over the next three-and-half minutes of action for the Redhawks put Seattle U ahead 26-16 before a pair of free throws by Riley ended the run.

A quick 8-0 run for the Trailblazers saw buckets from Stone Hutchings, Gonsalves, Riley and Justin Bieker to get within one at 27-26, but seven of the final nine points of the half went the way of the Redhawks for a 34-28 lead at the break.

The opening eight minutes of the second half saw UT get off to a hot start going on a 17-8 run to jump ahead 45-42 after a three-pointer by Gonsalves.

A scoreless stretch over the next three-plus minutes for the Trailblazers saw Seattle go on a 13-0 run to lead 55-45 before a three-pointer from the left corner by Riley ended the run.

A layup by the Redhawks with 5:58 to play put Seattle ahead 61-51 as the Redhawks led by double digits the rest of the contest going on to win by 20.

Numbers to Know

• Utah Tech falls to 2-8 all-time against Seattle U and 0-5 on the road against the Redhawks.
• The Trailblazers move to 1-4 in WAC road openers with their lone win coming last season at California Baptist on Dec. 6, 2023.
• Gonsalves scored in double figures for a team-leading 14th time. It was Riley's 10th double digit contest.
• Gonsalves went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line has now hit his last 24 free throw attempts dating back to his first attempt against Whitter on Dec. 16.
• Utah Tech shot 34.1 percent (15-44) from the field, 45 percent (9-20) from beyond the arc and 71.9 percent (23-32) from the free throw line.
• The Trailblazers got to the free throw line a season-high 32 times passing the previous high mark of 31 set at Wyoming on Nov. 16.
• UT was held to season lows in field goals made (15), field goal attempts (44) and rebounds (21).

What's Next
The Trailblazers return to the state of Utah on Saturday for an afternoon contest at Utah Valley (12-6, 4-0 WAC) at 2 p.m. for the Old Hammer Rivalry at the UCCU Center.