(St. George, Utah - Dec. 29, 2025) - A big second half surge powered the Trailblazers past Southern Utah, 80-66 to open WAC play on Monday night at Burns Arena.
A well-balanced offensive attack that saw five Trailblazers finish in double figures, Utah Tech (8-7, 1-0 WAC) was led by 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field by
Noah Bolanga.
Madiba Owona added 16 points while
Jusaun Holt tallied 14 points and dished out a team-best five assists.
Ethan Potter nearly notched a double-double finishing with 13 points & nine rebounds while
Britton Berrett came off the bench to tally 10 points while drilling a pair of three-pointers.
The Trailblazers shot 44.9 percent (31-69) from the field, 43.5 percent (10-23) from three-point range and 61.5 percent (8-13) from the free throw line.
Southern Utah (4-10, 0-1 WAC) was led by 12 points off the bench from Dylan Jones along with 11 points apiece from Zach Bell and Elijah Duval.
How It Happened
Getting off to a cold start from the field, the Trailblazers fell behind, 8-2 in the early going and the Thunderbirds led by as many as 10 at 25-15 with 8:15 remaining in the opening half.
A triple by Holt ignited a 16-6 run for the Trailblazers over the ensuing five minutes with a three-pointer from Bolanga giving UT a 34-31 lead.
After the teams traded the lead back-and-forth three more times, SUU was poised to take a one-point lead into the halftime break, but a last-second triple from Holt gave UT a 41-39 lead after the opening 20 minutes.
Five straight points for Southern Utah got the second half started, but the Trailblazers responded with a 13-0 run over the next three minutes to push ahead, 54-44.
A three-pointer by Bell ended the run for the Thunderbirds, but a layup by Potter and dunk by Owona pushed their lead back to double digits at 58-47.
A three-pointer by
Chance Trujillo midway through the half kept the Trailblazers in front by 10 (62-52), but SUU responded with a three-point play & a layup by Duval to bring SUU back within five.
Berrett responded with back-to-back triples to put the Trailblazers ahead, 68-57 and a layup by Bolanga & a three-pointer by Owona extended the UT lead to 16 at 73-57.
The Trailblazers went on to hold a double-digit lead over the final five minutes to win their fourth straight WAC opener.
Numbers to Know
- The Trailblazers push their record to 4-2 in WAC openers winning their fourth straight.
- The 14-point win for the Trailblazers was their largest in a WAC contest since Feb. 1, 2024 when UT defeated UTRGV, 81-64 at Burns Arena.
- Utah Tech led SUU in blocks (6-3), points off turnovers (20-6), second chance points (11-10) & points in the paint (40-34) while the Thunderbirds led the charge in bench points (24-16) & fast break points (13-7).
- The Trailblazers also had five players in double figures in their last home game against Justice.
- Holt drilled a season-best three-pointers for a second straight game and also matched his season high with three blocks.
Up Next
The Trailblazers open the 2026 calendar year on Thursday night traveling to Abilene Christian (8-5, 0-0 WAC) for a 6 p.m. MT tip at Moody Coliseum.
