ST. GEORGE — The Utah Tech men’s and women’s basketball teams found the going tough on Saturday as both teams lost conference contests to Grand Canyon.
The Trailblazer men fell at home 77-65 while the women lost a road game 73-48.
With the loss, the Utah Tech men fell to 9-9 overall and 2-2 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Blazers host Stephen F. Austin at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The Utah Tech women dropped to 8-7 overall and 2-2 in the WAC. Utah Tech will make its first of three regular-season trips to the Lone Star State on Thursday to face Stephen F. Austin at 1 p.m. MST.
Grand Canyon 77, Utah Tech 65 (men)
The host Blazers led for nearly 30 minutes of game time but could not contain the Lopes.
Utah Tech’s Beon Riley dribbles against a Grand Canyon defender during the Trailblazers’ 77-65 loss Saturday at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah, Jan. 6, 2024 | Photo by Emily Wight, Utah Tech Athletics, St. George News
“That’s why they’re the No. 1 team in our league – they’re a really good team,” Utah Tech men’s coach Jon Judkins said in a news release. “We knew they weren’t going to die down when we built a lead … we knew they were going to make their run. We go on a 19-2 run in the first half and they go 17-4 in the second, it’s what the game of basketball is all about, it’s a game of runs.”
Noa Gonsalves paired a team-high 19 points with four rebounds while Beon Riley’s efforts culminated in 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
Jaylen Searles scored nine points and grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds while Hamed Olayinka had seven points, four rebounds and one block. Tanner Christensen had four points, six rebounds and three rebounds while David Elliott put up a line of three points, six rebounds and a season-high six assists.
“I thought our rebounding was excellent, we out-rebounded them which is something we preach nonstop,” Judkins said. “We had these guys, had them on the ropes, so I know we can play with anybody.”
Both teams traded buckets early in the second period and Utah Tech led at 46-34 with 15:13 to play. Grand Canyon responded with a 17-4 run to take a 48-47 lead at the 11:02 mark. The Lopes would trail only once more and pulled away to win 77-65.
Utah Tech’s Allyson Deaver lays in two of her six points against Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, Jan. 6, 2024 | Photo by Ava Nash, Utah Tech Athletics, St. George News
Grand Canyon 73, Utah Tech 48 (women)
The Trailblazers started the game shooting 3 for 10, found themselves down 24-7 in the opening quarter and never were able to recover at Global Credit Union Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Utah Tech offense began to show signs of life in the early minutes of the second period as the Blazers knocked down four of their first seven shots to make it 31-16 after an Alyson Deaver bucket with 5:27 remaining in the first half.
However, those two Deaver points would be the last Utah Tech would score as GCU closed the frame with a 9-0 run and took a 40-16 advantage into the intermission. The Lopes would push their lead to as many as 33 points in the second half before settling for the 25-point home win.
Maddie Warren was the lone Trailblazer to score in double figures as finished with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Twin sister Macie Warren chipped in nine points, while Maggie McCord added eight points to go with six rebounds.
Breaunna Gillen was held to seven points, though she did manage to pull down a game-high nine rebounds and dished out a team-best three assists. It marked the second time in her last 56 starts that she did not score in double figures.