(St. George, Utah - Nov. 29, 2025) - Behind a career-high 26 points from senior forward Ethan Potter, the Trailblazers defeated UC Riverside, 77-69 on Saturday afternoon at Burns Arena.

Led by Potter, Utah Tech (5-5) tallied three Trailblazers with double figures with the duo of French natives Madiba Owona and Noah Bolanga each adding 12 points apiece.

Bolanga grabbed a season-best eight rebounds and dished out a season-leading four assists while matching his season high in minutes played with 37.

Potter connected on 11-for-19 from the field and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line as he topped his previous career high of 23 points while at Utah Valley in the 2024 WAC Tournament against California Baptist.

UC Riverside (4-4) was led by Potter's former teammate at Utah Valley Osiris Grady with 17 points and also got double figures from Andrew Henderson (16) and Marqui Worthy Jr. (10).

How It Happened
The Trailblazers got out to a quick 8-4 lead after the first three-and-half minutes of the contest knocking down four of its first five field goals.

A 6-0 run for the Highlanders pushed UCR in front, 10-8 and after trading the lead back-and-forth five times, the Trailblazers jumped ahead, 19-17 on a three-pointer by Owona with 10:25 to play in the opening half.

A three-pointer by Bolanga with 5:34 to go pushed the Trailblazers' ahead 31-26, but five straight points for the Highlanders tied the game at 31.

After trading field goals, the Trailblazers ended the half on an 8-2 run converting a pair of field goals and connecting on four free throws to take a 41-35 lead into the locker room.

Extending their lead to 11 with a 7-2 run out of the gate in the first two minutes of the second half, a three-pointer by Chance Trujillo made it 48-37 in favor of the Trailblazers.

A 15-7 run for the Highlanders over the next six minutes saw the Trailblazers' lead dwindle down to 55-52 before three straight points off the bench from Dario Domingos put UT back up by six at 58-52.

With UCR continuing to stay neck-and-neck with the Trailblazers, UT held a slim 68-66 lead with 5:27 to play before five straight points, including four from Potter, pushed the Trailblazers ahead, 73-66.

The Highlanders answered back with a three-pointer from Henderson with 2:05 remaining, but that would be their final field goal of the contest with the Trailblazers knocking down four final free throws for the eight-point victory.

Numbers to Know

• The Trailblazers shot 52.8 (28-53) percent from the field, 40 percent (6-15) from three-point range and 83.3 percent (15-18) from the charity stripe.
• UT led UCR in points off turnovers (22-4) and bench points (24-12).
• Utah Tech moves to 5-8 all-time against Big West opponents.

Up Next
The Trailblazers head out on the road on Wednesday night taking on Santa Clara (7-1) at 8 p.m. MT at the Leavey Center.