(St. George, Utah - March 1, 2025) - The Trailblazers dropped a defensive battle on Saturday night to California Baptist, 61-57 on Hall of Fame Night at Burns Arena.
Utah Tech (6-23, 2-12 WAC) was limited to only two Trailblazers in double figures led by
Beon Riley with 11 points and
Madiba Owona added 10 points and a pair of assists.
Riley notched his ninth double-double of the season leading the charge with 10 rebounds, three offensive, and tallied a pair of assists and a block.
California Baptist (14-14, 7-7 WAC) was led by a trio of Lancers in double figures with Tylen Riley notching 24 points and seven rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.
Kendal Coleman matched Riley with a double-double posting 14 points and 18 rebounds and Martel Williams chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
How It Happened
Getting off to a quick start, the Trailblazers led 10-5 after the opening five minutes.
The Lancers responded with a 9-0 run, but Utah Tech answered right back with an 8-0 run to jump ahead, 17-14 after a three-pointer by Riley.
Continuing to lead throughout the half, the Trailblazers pushed their lead as many as six at 28-22 after a three-point play by
Unisa Turay with 1:35 to play in the opening half.
Four straight points for CBU got the Lancers back within two, but a late layup by Turay put UT ahead 30-26 at the break.
Coming out for the second half with
Hakim Byrd hitting a three-pointer to take a seven-point advantage, an 8-0 run for the Lancers gave CBU their first lead since midway through the first half.
The lone three points of the night for Trailblazers' leading scorer
Noa Gonsalves came halfway through the second half to put UT ahead, 43-41.
A 10-1 run for CBU pushed the Lancers on top, 51-44 with 6:37 to play and the visitors continued to lead by that margin, before a three-pointer by Riley made it 57-52 in favor of CBU with 2:43 remaining.
The Trailblazers went cold from there missing four straight field goal attempts as CBU led 61-54 in the final seconds getting a three-pointer by Owona at the buzzer to account for the final margin.
Numbers to Know
- The Trailblazers fall to 14-11 all-time against California Baptist and 7-3 at home against the Lancers.
- Utah Tech shot 37.5 percent (21-56) from the field to snap its nine-game streak of shooting over 40 percent from the field.
- The Trailblazers nailed 31.8 percent (7-22) from three-point range and 66.7 percent (8-12) from the free throw line.
- The 61 points allowed were the fewest since Jan. 11 against Tarleton State (54) and third fewest against a Division I opponent (also only allowed 54 points vs. Denver).
- UT led CBU in bench points (24-1), assists (10-5) and blocks (5-3).
- 10 of the 11 Trailblazers who played scored at least two points and nine players grabbed at least one rebound.
- Riley led the Trailblazers in scoring for the eighth time this season and it was his 19th time in double figures.
- Riley led the way in rebounds for the 18th time overall and 10th time in WAC play.
- Owona scored in double digits for the fourth time this season.
- Gonsalves was held a season-low three points and to single digits for the first time since Jan. 25 vs. Grand Canyon and for only the sixth time in 29 games this season.
- Gonsalves moved into sole possession on Saturday of the top spot for most career games played appearing in his 123rd contest as a Trailblazer.
Up Next
The Trailblazers head out on the road for their final road contest of the regular season on Thursday traveling to Grand Canyon (22-6, 12-2 WAC) for a 7 p.m. contest at Global Credit Union Arena.
