SAINT GEORGE – Hosting Tarleton State on Saturday night, the Utah Tech men’s basketball team used a hot start to end a three-game losing streak in a 75-71 victory at Burns Arena.
The Trailblazers came out of the gates fast, knocking down their first three shots from beyond the arc en route to an 11-2 lead.
Tarleton State had an answer, however, totaling 13 of the next 19 points to cut the UT lead to just two (17-15) near the midway point of the opening half.
With its lead in jeopardy, Utah Tech put together a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to push its lead back to nine, 24-15.
Both teams traded blows over the final minutes of the opening half, but the Trailblazers would head to the locker room with a slim 34-31 advantage.
Second half
Having led at halftime in all of their previous nine wins, Utah Tech came out of the break and scored the first points thanks to a Jusaun Holt layup.
The Texans continued to keep it close, cutting the deficit to just one, 39-38, just under four minutes into the period.
With momentum seemingly having swung in favor of the visitors, UT senior forward Ethan Potter took over.
The preseason All-WAC selection went on a personal 7-0 run, which Britton Berrett followed with a three-pointer to make it 49-40 with under 13 minutes to go.
As Utah Tech pushed its lead to as many as 11 (57-46), Tarleton State began to chip away, pulling within three at 64-61 with 2:50 on the clock.
A pair of UT layups made it 68-61, but the Texans would not go quietly.
The Trailblazer lead was just two, 73-71, with 19 seconds remaining, but late free throws by Chance Trujillo sealed the win to get the team’s record back to .500 – both overall and in WAC play.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Utah Tech, and much of that was thanks to an offense that was firing on all cylinders.
“The two things we did better (from Thursday) were that we shot better, and our energy was good. I loved the effort, I loved that our guys didn’t panic, they stayed under control, and they’ve just got to keep doing that,” head coach Jon Judkins said postgame.
UT shot 52% from the field (25-48), making 8 three-pointers and going 17-23 from the free throw line.
That was in stark contrast to the loss to UT Arlington, where the Trailblazers shot just 32% overall and made just one shot from beyond the arc.
“I think a lot of it was just the mindset,” Potter said of the differences between Thursday and Saturday.
“ I think the biggest aspect of the game that helped us out was free throws at the end with Juice (Holt) and Chance (Trujillo). Without some of those free throws, who knows?”
Potter led the Trailblazers with 23 points and 7 rebounds in the win, but the Trailblazers wouldn’t have been able to notch a win without Noah Bolanga.
Bologna totaled 16 points, knocking down 3-4 shots from downtown.
“One point about this conference is that we can really compete with every team. Every game is the big game; we just have to focus on the little details.”
The win moves the Trailblazers to 10-10 overall and 3-3 in Western Athletic Conference action.
Utah Tech will hit the court again on Wednesday, Jan. 21, taking on Cal Baptist in Riverside, Calif.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. MT.
This article was originally written for Utah Tech’s student newspaper, Sun News.
Photo credit: Stan Plewe, Utah Tech Athletics.
