Sitting atop the WAC standings, the Utah Valley Wolverines used a second-half rally to pull out a win over the Utah Tech Trailblazers in the Old Hammer Rivalry on Thursday night.
When the game got started, the Trailblazers seemed up to the challenge of facing the WAC’s top team at home.
The matchup was close for the entirety of the first half, with neither team leading by more than five points.
During the back-and-forth battle, Utah Tech captured the lead when Noah Gonsalves hit a three-pointer at the 5:54 mark for the 20-17 advantage.
Utah Valley answered back however, retaking the lead just over a minute later.
After more back-and-forth action, the first Wolverines three-pointer by Justin Harmon made the score 25-22 with just over three and a half minutes to play. The next basket gave the visitors a five-point lead, its largest of the first half.
But much like they have all season, the Trailblazers kept the game close.
Cutting the deficit with a free throw, Utah Tech’s Cameron Gooden scored five of the next eight points – including a coast-to-coast layup with only two seconds left – that gave the home side a 33-29 lead into the halftime break.
CAM goes COAST 2️⃣ COAST to beat the halftime buzzer!! #UtahTechBlazers | #WACmbb | #WAChoops pic.twitter.com/MHqYTDPrYM
— Utah Tech Men's Basketball (@UtahTechMBB) February 3, 2023
Gooden had 12 points at the half to lead the Trailblazers, who ended the half on an 8-0 run.
Second half
While Utah Tech seemingly had all the momentum at the break, the Wolverines answered the home team’s run with an 8-0 spurt of their own to take a 37-33 lead.
Utah Valley led by as many as nine before the Trailblazers cut the lead to just two with 10 minutes remaining.
The Wolverines then grew the lead back to seven, before a three-pointer by Utah Tech’s Noah Gonsalves made the score 60-56 while hyping up the crowd.
UVU wasn’t about to allow a comeback though, as the conference’s top team responded by scoring the next nine points.
Facing a 13-point deficit with only three and half minutes to go proved too much for the Trailblazers to overcome, as the Wolverines finished off a 76-69 victory.
The win gives Utah Valley the season sweep over Utah Tech, while also – at least momentarily – putting them alone atop the WAC standings at 9-2 (18-6 overall).
“It’s frustrating,” said Utah Tech head coach Jon Judkins. “I thought we played really good basketball for 20 minutes. I thought the first half was perfect, it was exactly what we wanted, the gameplan was working, and everything was good then we come out in the second half and they go on an 8-0 run on us, it’s just not acceptable.”
UVU shot a blistering 53.3% in the second half, highlighted by a 26-point performance from Le’Tre Darthard.
“We didn’t get stops and then we get down by 11, 12 and we decide to play again. It’s something these guys are doing way too much,” Judkins said. “I’m trying to get them to play for 40 minutes, but the momentum was in our favor at halftime and we kind of came out flat, they (UVU) came out pushing and going and we had some good looks and missed them but we’ve got to get stops.”
Another area where the Wolverines led the way was on the glass, outrebounding the Trailblazers 47-25.
“I don’t think they beat us, I think we beat ourselves,” said Judkins. “ It’s something we’ve got to learn. We got killed on the glass, lost by 22 rebounds, and when you lose like that your chances of winning are really really slim.”
Cameron Gooden led Utah Tech with 15 points but wasn’t satisfied that it was in a losing effort.
“We kind of came out a little too satisfied (in the second half), a little too flat, but they came out with energy…We just didn’t react and we didn’t respond to their run.”
The loss was a tough one for the Trailblazers, as they let an opportunity to down a rival slip away in the second half.
Utah Tech has now lost three straight games, falling to 2-8 in WAC play (10-13 overall).
“We have to look inward, I don’t think they (UVU) really beat us tonight, I think we mostly beat ourselves,” said Trailblazers guard Isaiah Pope. “I think we have to look ourselves in the mirror and what are we going to do as a unit, as a team to change what happened tonight and make sure it doesn’t happen Saturday.”
Big matchups continue
And while UVU turns its attention to Cal Baptist, the Trailblazers have a quick turnaround to face another rival.
Southern Utah makes the short trip down I-15 on Saturday, looking to keep pace with the Wolverines atop the conference. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
It’s another big game at the Burns Arena for Utah Tech, and they know how important the matchup is.
“Personally I think it’s a must-win game,” said Gooden. “To just go out there and win, get some momentum, feed into the rest of conference (play), get a good seed in the tournament. I think it’s an opportunity to get the community together as well and just another chance to fight through some adversity.”
A win over a rival school might just be what the Trailblazers need to try and move up the conference standings and get the season back on track, and Judkins is looking for someone on his team to step up and lead.
“We’ve got to have some leadership, we’ve got to get some guys leading,” he said. “And leading is not yelling and screaming, leading is getting your team together, getting them on the same page, encouraging them, getting them fired up and ready to go, and right now we’re waiting for somebody else to do it. We’ve got to have somebody do that for us and that’s what we challenged them with tonight. On Saturday let’s get that leadership. If we do that, I think we are going to be ok.”
