Men's Basketball | 2/3/2026 1:30:00 PM

Game #25
Who | Utah Tech (13-11, 6-4 WAC) vs. UT Arlington (14-7, 6-3 WAC)
When | Thursday, Feb. 5 – 7 p.m.
Where | Burns Arena – St. George, Utah
Broadcast | ESPN+ / 99.5 FM The Fan Sports Network
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

SCOUTING THE UT ARLINGTON MAVERICKS
UT Arlington is 14-7 on the season and currently in a three-way tie for first in the WAC alongside Utah Valley & California Baptist with a 6-3 mark in conference.

The Mavericks are coming off a tough 87-77 overtime loss at home to CBU on Saturday, but won back-to-back games prior to that with wins at home over Tarleton State & Southern Utah.

UTA went 8-4 in non-conference action and is 6-4 in road action this season.

UT Arlington leads the WAC in scoring defense (66.2) and three point percentage defense (25.5 - 1st nationally).

The Mavs are second in the conference in field goal percentage defense (41.4), scoring margin (+6.4) & rebounding margin (+7.7) and is third in blocks per game (4.0) & free throw percentage (72.5).

UTA is led by senior guard Marcell McCreary, who ranks second in the WAC in free throw percentage (84.4) and is fifth in points per game (13.9) while preseason All-WAC selection Raysean Seamster is ninth in points per game averaging 13.6 points per game & is fifth in 6.6 rebounds per game.

Seamster is fourth in the WAC in field goal percentage (51.1) and sophomore guard Cash Chavis is third in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.75) & assists per game (4.0).                    

SERIES HISTORY VS. UT ARLINGTON
This will be the Trailblazers and Mavericks seventh all-time meeting with UT Arlington leading the series, 5-1.

The Mavericks narrowly defeated the Trailblazers, 56-52 on Jan. 15 in Burns Arena and was led by the third double-double of the season from Ethan Potter who finished with 16 points & a team-leading 11 rebounds to go along with two steals.

Tanner Davis tallied 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Noah Bolanga added seven points & nine rebounds and Chance Trujillo also recorded seven points.

With the Mavs leading 27-18 at half, an 8-0 run for UTA pushed the Mavericks in front, 50-40 with 5:20 to play before layups by Davis & Trujillo along with three free throws highlighted a 7-0 run for the Trailblazers to cut UTA's lead to 50-47.

A three-point play by Jusaun Holt kept the Trailblazers within three at 52-49 with 16 seconds left and a three-point play by Davis made it a two-point contest at 54-52.

Two final free throws by UTA made it a two possession contest to seal a four-point win. The two teams meet one final time in Arlington on Feb. 19.

LAST TIME OUT AT TARLETON STATE
Behind a career-high 23 points from Bolanga, the Trailblazers held on to defeat Tarleton State, 65-59 last Saturday afternoon at the EECU Center.

Utah Tech, who defeated the Texans for the first time ever on the road, were led by Bolanga's standout performance as the French native finished 9-of-13 from the field & 4-of-5 from behind the arc and added seven rebounds, three steals and three assists.    

The Trailblazers were also paced by nine points apiece from Holt, Britton Berrett and Dario Domingos and Trujillo tacked on eight points and three assists.

Trailing 30-29 at half, a layup by Cam McDowell put the Texans on top, 38-37, but a 12-0 run by the Trailblazers over the next three minutes pushed UT in front, 49-38 after a triple by Bolanga.

The Texans responded right back with a 10-0 run, but a triple by Britton, his third of the contest, put the Trailblazers up 52-48 and started a 9-0 run giving UT a 58-48 lead with 5:16 remaining.

The Texans answered right back with a 9-2 run to trim the Trailblazers' lead down to 60-57 and after staying within three after a jumper by McDowell, a triple by Holt from the right corner delivered the dagger for Tarleton and secured the victory.

WHERE THE TRAILBLAZERS RANK IN THE WAC/NCAA IN 2025-26
Utah Tech heads into Thursday's game leading the WAC in three point attempts per game (23.0) & three pointers made per game (7.7).

The Trailblazers are second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.15), assists per game (14.7), field goal percentage (47.0), three point percentage defense (29.1 - 14th nationally) & turnovers per game (7.7).

Individually, Potter leads the WAC in rebounds per game (7.7) & field goal percentage (59.3 - 32nd nationally) & is third in points per game (16.1). Potter tops the conference and is 22nd nationally with 156 field goals made & is first with 185 rebounds.

Trujillo leads the WAC in three point attempts (142) and is fourth in minutes per game (32:28).

Bolanga is second in the WAC in three point attempts (138), is fifth in minutes per game (32:04) and sixth in rebounds per game (6.0).

Holt checks in fifth in blocks (22) & seventh in assists per game (3.3) and Tanner Davis is third with 44 steals.

HOT STREAK
The Trailblazers have won three straight WAC contests for only the second time in its six seasons in the conference joining Jan. 20-29, 2022 with wins over Lamar, UTRGV and Chicago State.

NO TAKEOUT, WE'RE COOKING AT HOME
The Trailblazers head into their final five home games this season with a 7-2 record in Burns Arena, its most home wins in a season since 2022-23 (9) and its 10 home wins in 2021-22 are the most they have had in the Division I era.

WINS RACKING UP
The Trailblazers are now only one more win shy of matching their most wins in a season in the Division I era (14 - 2023).

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2025-26
For the first time in a win this season, the Trailblazers won after trailing at halftime last Saturday at Tarleton.

The Trailblazers have shot 40 percent or better from the field & has hit at least six three pointers in all 13 wins and is coming off matching their season high with 12 on Saturday vs. Tarleton.

SWIPING THAT
Davis swiped a season-best five steals on Jan. 29 at Abilene Christian. It was the first time since Dec. 22, 2022 a Trailblazer (Frank Staine) has had five steals in a contest.

TOP 10 WATCH FOR NUMBER OF TRAILBLAZERS
Potter, Trujillo, Holt & Davis are all on track to finish in the top 10 in a single season in different categories.

Potter in points per game (16.1, 7th), rebounds per game (7.7, 6th) & field goal percentage (59.3, 10th), Trujillo in free throw percentage (87.9, 6th), Holt in three point percentage (45.3, 5th) & Davis in steals (44, T-6th).22

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 as a member of the Western Athletic Conference for the sixth and final season

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

GOING "BIG" IN 2026
On June 25, 2025, Utah Tech announced that it had accepted an invitation to join the Big Sky Conference beginning on July 1, 2026. 

Starting in the 2026-27 season, 14 of the Trailblazers' 17 sports will compete under the Big Sky Conference banner.

UP NEXT
The Trailblazers continue their homestand next Thursday (Feb. 12) against Utah Valley (16-6, 6-3 WAC) at 7 p.m. at Burns Arena.