SAINT GEORGE – Hosting first-place UT Arlington on Thursday night, Utah Tech men’s basketball suffered a 56-52 loss to fall to 9-10 overall and 2-3 in WAC play in its third straight defeat.
The Mavericks would score the game’s first points, but the Trailblazers answered with a 10-4 run to take a slim four-point lead just under seven minutes into the first half.
UTA responded by scoring the next 13 points, shutting down the Utah Tech offense while taking a nine-point lead, 19-10, with 7:39 left in the first half.
Just a few minutes later, the Mavericks pushed the lead up to 12 (26-14), the largest of the half, with four minutes before the halftime break.
Two late baskets saw the Trailblazers cut into the deficit, but the visitors would take a 27-18 lead to the halftime break.
Second half
Despite poor shooting in the opening half, Utah Tech was able to keep the game close, but a quick pair of buckets out of the half by UTA saw them push the lead to 13, 31-18.
The Trailblazers would then begin to slowly chip away, getting within five thanks to a Tanner Davis three-point play with 13:19 left that made it 38-33.
A few minutes and more solid defense later, Utah Tech made it a two-point game off a Noah Bolanga trey to make it 42-40 with 9:22 to go.
The Mavericks countered with an 8-0 spurt, pushing their lead back to 10, 50-40, with just over five minutes remaining.
While it seemed like UTA might cruise from there, the Trailblazers used a quick 7-0 run to get within three after a Chance Trujillo fastbreak layup with 3:22 on the clock.
Unfortunately, that would be as close as Utah Tech would get.
With the game on the line, the Trailblazers would not score any points for just over three minutes despite playing solid defense.
The Mavericks would seal the win with a pair of free throws in the final seconds to hold on for a 56-52 win.
In the end, poor shooting – from both the field and the free throw line – would make the difference in a close matchup for the Trailblazers. In the end, the team shot a mere 31.8 percent from the field (21-66) while managing just one made three-pointer.
“We just shot really poorly,” senior forward Ethan Potter said postgame.
Potter led Utah Tech offensively, recording a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“Sometimes, we can’t control the way we shoot,” he added.
“We’ve just got to control the shots we are getting. I think we did a better job getting better shots in the second half, but we just can’t have a first half where we shoot 22 percent from the field.”
Free-throw shooting also proved costly, as Utah Tech made just 9 of 18 shots from the line.
“Free throws were big tonight,” freshman guard Tanner Davis said. He tied for the team lead with 16 points in the loss.
“I missed two in the first half. Honestly, our defense played really well tonight; it just came down to making shots.”
Despite the loss, head coach Jon Judkins praised his team’s effort.
“I love the effort; we played hard. That’s a tough team, and they really drive you. Defensively, to hold a team to 56 (points) on 32 percent shooting, you normally see a team that does that wins the game.”
Up next, Utah Tech hosts Tarleton State on Saturday, looking to snap a three-game skid.
Tip-off is set for 7 pm inside Burns Arena.
This article originally appeared by the same author in Utah Tech’s student newspaper, Sun News.
Photo credit: Stan Plewe, Utah Tech Athletics.
