Utah Valley Takes Down Utah Tech Trailblazers, Maintain WAC Lead
Feb 2, 2023, 9:20 PM | Updated: Feb 3, 2023, 2:21 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – Le’Tre Darthard poured in 26 points, leading first-place Utah Valley to a decisive 76-69 road win over Utah Tech.
Utah Tech (10-13, 2-8) hosted the Utah Valley Wolverines (18-6, 9-2) at Burns Arena in St. George, UT on Thursday, February 2. Utah Valley won the previous matchup between these teams 71-60 on December 31, 2022.
Final.#UtahTechBlazers | #WACmbb | #WAChoops pic.twitter.com/T6XTrkDar0
— Utah Tech Men's Basketball (@UtahTechMBB) February 3, 2023
Utah Tech came in riding a two-game losing streak. The Trailblazers lost 81-76 at Abilene Christian and 74-72 at Tarleton State in a pair of close losses on the road.
Utah Valley picked up a 77-72 win over New Mexico State in their most recent game. Before that, the Wolverines suffered a 12-point road loss against Southern Utah.
RELATED: Utah Valley Takes Down Utah Tech For Eighth Straight Win
Darthard’s 26 points led the Wolverines three double-figure scorers. Justin Harmon scored 12 and Aziz Bandaogo added 15 points in the win.
Playing all 40 minutes, Noa Gonsalves led the Trailblazers with 14 points in the loss.
First Half
Utah Valley’s Justin Harmon and Tim Fuller connected for an early alley-oop that gave the Wolverines a 6-4 lead just three minutes into the game.
Harmon ⬆️ Fuller ⬇️#UVUhoops #UVUatUT #WAChoops pic.twitter.com/LDOxWksVnZ
— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) February 3, 2023
Minutes later, Utah Tech used a brief 5-0 run to take a 12-11 lead. Isaiah Pope gave the Trailblazers the lead with a corner three.
Both teams traded baskets for several minutes through the middle portion of the half.
RELATED: Utah Tech Drops Fifth Straight Road Game In Loss To Abilene Christian
With the game tied at 22, Harmon nailed a three of a Cam Alford assist. On the other end, Alford forced a steal and took it the distance, finishing with the lay-in to give the Wolverines their largest lead of the game, 27-22.
Utah Tech went on to outscore UVU 11-2 over the final three minutes of the half to take a 33-29 halftime lead.
First Half By The Numbers:
Cameron Gooden leads all scorers with 12 points, 5 of which came in the final minute as the Blazers lead by 4 at the break.
UT 12-27 FG (.444) / 3FG 3-7 (.429) / 6-9 FT (.667)#UtahTechBlazers | #WAChoops | #WACmbb— Utah Tech Men's Basketball (@UtahTechMBB) February 3, 2023
Second Half
Utah Valley started the second half hot with Harmon and Trey Woodbury combining to score the first eight points of the period.
Trey Wood opens the second half with a shot from long range.#UVUhoops #UVUatUT #WAChoops pic.twitter.com/wfFj6MUXpL
— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) February 3, 2023
It ended up being a lead that UVU would never surrender.
RELATED: Utah Valley Avoids Collapse, Holds Off New Mexico State
Shooting well over 50 percent for much of the half, UVU used a 9-0 run in less than two minutes of play to build their largest lead of the night, 69-56.
Le'Tre with the steal and bucket!#UVUhoops #UVUatUT #WAChoops pic.twitter.com/7Ic3pieBL9
— UVU Men’s Basketball (@UVUmbb) February 3, 2023
Utah Valley improved to 12 games above .500 with the 76-69 win.
Up Next
The Trailblazers welcome in their second straight in-state opponent when the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (16-7, 8-2) invade Burns Arena on Saturday, February 4. Tip-off for this game is scheduled for 7 p.m. (MST).
Utah Valley returns home to face the California Baptist Lancers (13-10, 5-5) on Wednesday, February 8. Tip-off for this game is scheduled for 6 p.m. (MST).
