(St. George, Utah - Feb. 27, 2025) - Despite a one-point halftime lead on Thursday night at home against Southern Utah, the Trailblazers fell 82-75 to the Thunderbirds at Burns Arena.

Utah Tech (6-22, 2-11 WAC) was led by senior guard Noa Gonsalves with 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field, adding five rebounds and three assists.

Two more Trailblazers finished in double figures with Beon Riley tallying 14 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals while Samuel Ariyibi chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds.

Southern Utah (12-16, 4-10 WAC) was paced by three Thunderbirds in double figures with 29 points from Dominique Ford along with 23 points by Jamir Simpson.

Hercy Miller came off the bench adding 12 points and six rebounds and Lorenzo Abellar dished out a team-high seven assists and scored six points.

How It Happened
Getting off to a quick start, the Trailblazers led 8-2 after the first two minutes thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Gonsalves and two free throws by Riley.

A free throw by Ariyibi put UT ahead 20-14, but the Trailblazers went cold from the field being held scoreless over the next three-and-half minutes as SUU made it a one-point game, 20-19.

A jumper from Madiba Owona gave UT a three-point lead (22-19) and the Trailblazers extended it to as many as six (29-23) after a pair of free throws by Ariyibi.

A 9-2 run for the Thunderbirds gave SUU their first lead of the half at 32-31 with 1:30 to play in the opening half as a pair of late field goals by Ariyibi pushed UT ahead 35-34 at the break.

Five quick points out of the gate for SUU to start the second half gave the Thunderbirds a 39-35 lead, but a 6-0 run for the Trailblazers, capped by a three-pointer from Owona, put UT back in the lead, 41-39.

A 9-0 run for Southern Utah pushed their lead to 50-41, but the Trailblazers raced back with a 17-9 run to knot the game at 58 after a three-pointer by Justin Bieker with 7:30 to go in the second half.

Pulling within two on four different occasions over the next three-plus minutes, a dunk by Gonsalves got UT within a pair (69-67) with 4:13 remaining.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Simpson and Ford extended SUU's lead to eight with just under three minutes to play as the Trailblazers could only get within four (78-74) after a three-point play by Hakim Byrd the rest of the contest as SUU went on to win, 82-75.

Numbers to Know

• The Trailblazers fall to 3-7 against Southern Utah and it was the first loss to the Thunderbirds in four meetings in St. George.
• Utah Tech shot 42.9 percent (24-56) from the field, 39.1 percent (9-23) from three-point range and 72 percent (18-25) from the free throw line.
• The Trailblazers held an edge in assists (13-10), blocks (3-2), steals (6-5) and second chance points (9-6).
• Gonsalves totaled his fourth 20-point contest of the season and it was his first time such performance since Feb. 1 at UT Arlington.
• Gonsalves moved past DeQuan Thompson (2011-15) for fourth on the all-time scoring list in program history as he now has 1,195 career points.
• Gonsalves also jumped into the top 10 in program history in a single season in field goal attempts as his 310 attempts this season are now the seventh-most in a season.
• Ariyibi and Riley scored in double figures for the 10th and 18th time, respectively. It was Riley's 17th contest leading the Trailblazers in rebounds.
• Sammy Howlin matched his season high with three blocks.
• With the loss, the Trailblazers are now assured of playing in the opening round game of the WAC Tournament hosted at Burns Arena on March 11.

Up Next
The Trailblazers are back in action on Saturday night hosting California Baptist (13-14, 6-7 WAC) at 7 p.m. at Burns Arena. The 2025 Utah Tech Athletics Hall of Fame Class will be honored at halftime.