(St. George, Utah - Jan. 17, 2026) - The Trailblazers got back on the winning track on Saturday night holding off Tarleton State for a 75-71 win at Burns Arena.
Utah Tech (10-10, 3-3 WAC) saw its three-game losing skid come to an end with only their third win over Tarleton State (11-8, 2-4 WAC) in 10 meetings all-time against the Texans.
The Trailblazers were led by the seventh 20-point performance of the season from senior forward
Ethan Potter who finished with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds and an assist.
Three other Trailblazers registered double digits with
Noah Bolanga finishing with 16 points,
Chance Trujillo added 13 points and
Jusaun Holt tallied 11 points & six rebounds and matched his season high with six assists.
UT shot 52.1 percent (25-48) from the field, 34.8 percent (8-23) from three-point range and 73.9 percent (17-23) from the free throw line.
Tarleton State was led by 25 points from Cam McDowell while the nation's leading scorer Dior Johnson was held to 11 points. Chris Mpaka added 11 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
How It Happened
Getting off to a hot start, the Trailblazers raced out to a quick 11-2 lead knocking down each of its first three three-pointers along with a layup by Potter.
The Texans answered back with a 13-6 run cutting the Trailblazers' lead to 17-15 before seven straight points for UT pushed the Trailblazers lead back to nine at 24-15.
A 9-4 run for the Texans made it 28-24 in advantage of the Trailblazers before a three-pointer by Trujillo pushed UT's lead to seven with 4:11 to play in the opening half.
A layup from Potter gave the Trailblazers a 34-29 lead in the final minute of the first half, but a layup in the final second of the half by McDowell made it 34-31 at the break.
With the Trailblazers leading at the half in all nine of its wins this season, a layup by Holt got the second half started and after the Texans were able to pull within a point (39-38), seven straight points from Potter and three-pointer by
Britton Berrett pushed the Trailblazers ahead, 49-40.
Pushing their lead to as many as 11 at 57-46 after a layup by Potter, the Texans slowly chipped away at the Trailblazers' lead going on a 15-7 run to pull within three at 64-61 with 2:50 to play.
A layup by Potter with 2:18 put the Trailblazers up 66-61 and a layup by
Tanner Davis extended UT's lead to 68-61.
A free throw by Bolanga kept UT in front by six (69-63), but a three-pointer by Tarleton's Johnson trimmed it to a three-point contest with 37 seconds remaining.
A pair of free throws by Trujillo made it 71-66 and after another triple by Johnson made it 73-71 with 19 seconds left, two final free throws from Holt sealed a four-point win for the Trailblazers.
Numbers to Know
- The Trailblazers improve to 3-7 all-time against Tarleton State and 3-4 at home against the Texans.
- Utah Tech moves to 6-2 at home this season.
- The Trailblazers led the Texans in three-pointers made (8-2), free throws made (17-13), assists (19-12) & blocks (7-2).
- Davis notched a season-best 10 rebounds.
Up Next
The Trailblazers are back on the road on Wednesday night at California Baptist (13-6, 3-3 WAC) at 8 p.m. MT in Riverside.
