Men's Basketball | 2/27/2026 9:00:00 AM

Game #31
Who | Utah Tech (18-12, 11-5 WAC) at Southern Utah (9-19, 5-10 WAC)
When | Saturday, Feb. 28 – 6:30 p.m.
Where | America First Event Center – Cedar City, Utah
Broadcast | ESPN+ / 99.5 FM The Fan Sports Network
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

---

SCOUTING THE SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
Southern Utah is 9-19 on the season and currently tied with Tarleton State for sixth in the WAC with a 5-10 mark.

The Thunderbirds are 1-4 in their last five contests in the month of February and 6-4 at home having dropped their last two home games against California Baptist and Tarleton State.

SUU leads the WAC in three point percentage (35.3) and ranks second in blocks per game (4.4), free throw percentage (72.6), scoring offense (76.3) & three pointers made per game (7.6)

Senior forward Jaiden Feroah leads the WAC in both blocks (48) and blocks per game (1.71) and is fifth in rebounds per game (6.5).

Freshman guard Elijah Duval is fourth in the league in field goal percentage (45.9), fifth in points per game (14.5) & assists per game (3.6).

Senior forward Isaiah Cottrell is sixth in the WAC in rebounds per game (6.2) and second in blocks per game (1.43).

SERIES HISTORY VS. SOUTHERN UTAH
This will be Utah Tech's 14th meeting against Southern Utah with the Thunderbirds leading, 7-6.

The Trailblazers have won both meetings this season at home earning a 80-66 win to open WAC play on Dec. 29 and won a high-scoring 102-91 thriller on Jan. 24.

With the Trailblazers leading the series, 6-1 at home, UT is looking for their first win in Cedar City with the Thunderbirds  leading the series, 5-0 at home.

LAST TIME OUT VS. ABILENE CHRISTIAN
Despite a short bench, the Trailblazers outlasted Abilene Christian, 85-81 on Thursday night at Burns Arena.

Utah Tech extended their home winning streak to six and earned their eighth win in their last nine contests.

Led by four Trailblazers in double figures, senior forward Ethan Potter led the way with 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field and tied with Noah Bolanga for the team lead grabbing eight rebounds.

Redshirt sophomore guard Chance Trujillo registered a season-high 24 points knocking down 9-of-11 from the field and 6-of-8 from three-point range and added four assists.

Jusaun Holt tallied 15 points and dished out a team-high six assists while Bolanga notched 12 points, corralled eight rebounds and nabbed three steals.

The Trailblazers shot a season-best 61.1 percent (33-54) from the field, 42.1 percent (8-19) from three-point range and 73.3 percent (11-15) from the free throw line.

Leading 47-38 at the break, the Trailblazers pushed their lead to 11 (60-49) after the opening six minutes with a triple by Trujillo.

A layup by Holt put the Trailblazers up 66-58 midway through second half, but the Wildcats went on a quick 6-0 run in the next minute to pull within a pair (66-64) with nine minutes remaining.

After ties at 70, 72 and 74 with 4:19 to go, the Trailblazers ripped off an 8-0 run over the next three-plus minutes making four of its next five field goals to jump in front, 82-74.

A pair of layups and a pair of free throws by the Wildcats cut UT's lead back down to two (82-80) with 10 seconds left, a free throw by Holt pushed the Trailblazers up three.

The Wildcats made one of two free throws with six seconds remaining before Holt knocked down a pair of free throws with three seconds left to seal the victory.

WHERE THE TRAILBLAZERS RANK IN THE WAC/NCAA IN 2025-26
Utah Tech heads into the week leading the WAC in three point attempts per game (22.9), three pointers made per game (7.8) & turnovers per game (12.2).

The Trailblazers are second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.18), assists per game (14.4), field goal percentage (46.8), three point percentage defense (28.8 - 7th nationally) & three point percentage (34.0).

Individually, Potter leads the WAC in rebounds per game (7.9), rebounds (229) & field goal percentage (58.5 - 34th nationally). He is also among the league leaders in points (460, 2nd), field goals made (183, 2nd) & points per game (15.9, 3rd)

Trujillo leads the WAC in three point attempts (172), is third in three-pointers made (54) and is fourth in minutes per game (32:31).

Bolanga is second in the WAC in three point attempts (163) & three-pointers made (55), is fifth in minutes per game (32:31) and seventh in rebounds per game (6.0).

Holt checks in sixth in blocks (26) & assists per game (3.3) and Tanner Davis is fourth with 50 steals.

EIGHT OF THE LAST NINE
The Trailblazers have won eight of its last nine games dating back to Jan. 21 at California Baptist.

WINS RACKING UP
With only two games remaining in the regular season, the Trailblazers have already racked up their most wins in a season in the Division I era and have secured a winning record in the regular season.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY
The Trailblazers have shot 40 percent or better from the field & have hit at least six three pointers in all 18 wins this season.

TOP THREE SEED SECURED
With a win on Thursday night over Abilene Christian, the Trailblazers have secured a top three finish in the WAC regular season standings.

SEASON HIGH FROM THE FIELD
The 61.1 percent (33-54) shooting from the field on Thursday night against ACU was nearly in the single season top 10 for a game in program history as the 10th-best mark is 61.7 percent vs. Chaminade in 2012-13.

TRUJILLO GETTING HOT
Trujillo hit a season-best six three-pointers on Thursday against ACU as it was the 12th time in the NCAA era a Trailblazer has connected on six or more three-pointers in a game.

Trujillo is now shooting 53.1 percent from the field over the last six games nailing 34-of-64 from the field.

POTTER EARNS FOURTH WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS ON FEB. 23
Potter is coming off a strong week with his 24th and 25th double-digit scoring performances of the season on the week.

He led the Trailblazers in scoring on Thursday night at UT Arlington recording his sixth double-double leading the team with 16 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two blocks, two steals and an assist.

Two days later on Saturday at Tarleton State, the senior forward added 17 points, six rebounds, two blocks, two assists and a steal in a 80-72 win over the Texans at the EECU Center.

WAC WEEKLY AWARDS

• Ethan Potter (4): Dec. 1, Dec. 22, Jan. 20 & Feb. 23 - Player of the Week
• Chance Trujillo (3): Nov. 10 - Newcomer of the Week, Feb. 9 - Player & Newcomer of the Week
• Noah Bolanga (1): Dec. 15 - Newcomer of the Week

WAC TOURNAMENT SET FOR MARCH 11-14 IN LAS VEGAS
The 2026 WAC Tournament is set for March 11-14 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas as the 2025-26 campaign will mark an end of an era as Utah Tech will compete in the final conference tournament.

The Trailblazers joined the WAC in 2020-21 during the first year of the program's NCAA Division I transition.

UP NEXT
The Trailblazers close out the regular season next Saturday (March 7) hosting Utah Valley (21-7, 11-4 WAC) for Senior Day at 7 p.m. in Burns Arena.