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ST. GEORGE — Tied for seventh place in the Western Athletic Conference, Southern Utah and Utah Tech met for the second time this season in the Burns Arena.
Following Southern Utah's 75-65 win in mid-January, the Trailblazers got their revenge with a 70-68 finish Thursday night. Southern Utah (9-14, 4-8 WAC) found itself scoring below its average points per game of 76.3, while Utah Tech (9-14, 5-7 WAC) just barely topped their average of 69.6.
Both teams shot over 40% from the field, and each had three players reach double-digit scoring. Riley Beon came off the bench to become the Trailblazers' top scorer with 16 points, accompanied by his game-leading eight rebounds. Noa Gonzalves and Jaylen Searles followed behind with 15 and 13 points, respectively, and Gonzalves fell just short of Beon's rebound total with seven.
Southern Utah's Zion Young, who went 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range, put up 17 points to lead all scorers. Dominique Ford's 11 points and Jamari Sibley's 10 also helped keep the Thunderbirds in the game.
Utah Tech built a 15-point lead in the first half and retained an 8-point cushion at halftime. The Trailblazers went on an 8-2 run early in the game to start with the momentum on their side, and then held the Thunderbirds to just 25 points in the period while holding them to 1-of-11 shooting from 3-point range.
A 12-2 run by the Trailblazers midway through the half was their strongest surge of the game.
The second half opened with a five-minute 10-0 run by Southern Utah, which included back-to-back 3-pointers by Young. The run propelled the Thunderbirds to a 35-33 lead, their first since the start of the game. Southern Utah was able to hold Utah Tech to just nine field goals while going 14-of-32 themselves.
With under two minutes left in the game, the Trailblazers regained a double-digit lead, though. The teams traded free throws and layups until Ford's last-second 3-point attempt went in and out and marked Utah Tech's victory.
The game featured 46 total personal fouls, though neither team was impressive from the charity stripe. Southern Utah shot 65.2% on 23 attempts while Utah Tech shot 62.5% on 32 attempts.
Other standout players included Southern Utah's Braden Housley and Utah Tech's Tanner Christensen. Housley, a 6-foot-4 point guard, collected a team-leading seven rebounds, just one short of his career high; he also put up 9 points for the Thunderbirds. Christensen collected seven rebounds, but accompanied them with five assists and 7 points before he fouled out of the game.
Both teams will take the court again Saturday, when Southern Utah travels to Grand Canyon and Utah Tech hosts California Baptist.
