Hosting Tarleton State University Jan. 17, the Utah Tech University men’s basketball team ended a three-game losing streak in a 75-71 victory at the 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.
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 forward Ethan Potter, a senior management major from Layton, took over.
The preseason All-WAC selection went on a personal 7-0 run, which Britton Berrett followed with a 3-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 was the first since Jan. 1 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,” head coach Jon Judkins said postgame.
“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,” Judkins said.
UT shot 52% from the field (25-48), making eight 3-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 the Jan. 15 and 17 games.
“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 added.
Potter led the Trailblazers with 23 points and seven rebounds in the win, but the Trailblazers wouldn’t have been able to notch a win without Noah Bolanga, a sophomore marketing from Poitiers, France.
Bolanga totaled 16 points, knocking down three to four 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,” Bolanga said.
The win moves the Trailblazers to 10-10 overall and 3-3 in Western Athletic Conference action.
Utah Tech will hit the court again Jan. 21, taking on Cal Baptist in Riverside, California.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
