(Stephenville, Texas - Feb. 21, 2026) - A late rally by the Trailblazers saw Utah Tech get back on the winning track on Saturday afternoon defeating Tarleton State, 80-72 at the EECU Center.
Utah Tech (17-12, 10-5 WAC), winners of seven of its last eight contests, ended the game on a 23-10 run to get past Tarleton State (14-14, 5-10 WAC) and close out the week in second place in the WAC standings.
The Trailblazers were led by 19 points apiece by senior guard
Jusaun Holt & redshirt sophomore guard
Chance Trujillo as well as getting a 17-point, six-rebound performance from senior forward
Ethan Potter.
Trujillo tallied his second double-double of the season leading the way on the boards with 10 rebounds and Holt dished out a team-leading five assists.
As a team, the Trailblazers shot 47.3 percent (26-55) from the field, 37.9 percent (11-29) from three-point range and 85 percent (17-20) from the free throw line.
The Texans were led by three players in double figures with Jordan Mizell leading the team with 14 points and grabbed a team-leading 11 rebounds, Kaia Issac added 13 points & Freddy Hicks chipped in 11 points.
How It Happened
The Trailblazers raced out to an early 9-7 lead after the opening six minutes of the contest and continued to lead by a pair (14-12) after a triple by Tobi Ariyibi.
An 11-4 run for the Texans put Tarleton ahead 23-18, but eight straight points for the Trailblazers with a three-point play from
Tanner Davis, a jumper by Ariyibi and a triple by
Britton Berrett put UT in front, 26-23 with 3:52 to play in the opening half.
A 9-3 run for the Texans put Tarleton up 32-29, but a final three-pointer by Holt in the final 30 seconds of the half knotted the score at 32 heading to the locker room.
The Texans opened the second half on a 16-3 run to lead 48-35 after the first six minutes of action, but Trujillo drilled back-to-back three-pointers to cut Tarleton's lead down to five at 48-43.
An 8-2 run for the Texans extended the Tarleton's lead to 11 at 56-45 midway through the second half and the Texans continued to lead 60-57 after a layup by Hicks with 6:28 remaining.
That was the final lead of the contest for the Texans as the Trailblazers ripped off a 12-0 run over the next four-plus minutes, getting eight points from Trujillo, to take a commanding 69-60 lead.
Another triple by Trujillo, his fifth and final of the contest, moved the Trailblazers' lead to 72-62 and UT nailed eight of its final 10 free throws attempts in the final two minutes to seal an eight-point victory.
Numbers to Know
- The Trailblazers earned the season sweep over the Texans winning at home on Jan. 17 & also in Stephenville on Jan. 31. UT closed the gap in the all-time series against Tarleton to 7-5 in favor of the Texans.
- Utah Tech led Tarleton in rebounds (37-29), assists (16-12), blocks (4-0), second chance points (20-13), bench points (28-27) & fast break points (10-9).
- Trujillo earned his lone other double-double of the season in the season opener at South Dakota finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
- It was the sixth time this season the Trailblazers have hit double-digit three-pointers and fourth time in WAC play.
- The Trailblazers are a half-game back of Utah Valley for first place in the WAC and a half-game in front of California Baptist for third.
Up Next
The Trailblazers return home on Thursday night to host Abilene Christian (13-14, 5-9 WAC) at Burns Arena at 7 p.m.
