Surprise Team is 2-0 in WAC Play
Surprise Team is 2-0 in WAC Play
The all-time winningest collegiate coach in the state of Utah has his team undefeated in league play.
There are now three teams in the Western Athletic Conference that are 2-0 in WAC play in early December.
One you can already guess as GCU held off both UTRGV and UT Arlington last week. The preseason favorites sit atop the league early on.
Tarleton is the second team to be 2-0 in WAC play after wins at SFA and at Wisdom Gym against UTRGV on a last second buzzer beater by Jakorie Smith.
However, GCU and Tarleton have company at the top after a wild finish Wednesday night at the Fowler Events Center.
Utah Valley? Nope. California Baptist? Nope. SFA? Nope. ACU? Nope. Seattle U? Nope.
It is the second of the two transition schools as Utah Tech held on for dear life late in a 68-66 win at California Baptist on Wednesday.
With the win, Utah Tech is 2-0 in conference play for the first time since joining the Division I ranks.
Beon Riley had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Trailblazers. Jaylen Searles was also in double figures with 15. Unisa Turay had 11 points off the bench. But, perhaps the most impactful player for Jon Judkins and the Trailblazers was Hamed Olayinka.
The 6’9 sophomore had some highlight-reel dunks plus some big time blocks against the Lancers. In fact, Olayinka finished with three blocks in the contest.
Similar to its win over Utah Valley on Saturday, it was a big run to end a half that won the game for the Trailblazers. In fact, a 15-2 run to end the first half that gave the Trailblazers a 41-26 lead at the break.
However, true to the narrative between the Lancers and Trailblazers, the game turned into a barn burner late in the second half.
Utah Tech knows about comeback wins in Riverside. The Trailblazers scored 11 straight points two years ago to shock the Lancers. Sure, only Noa Gonsalves was on the Utah Tech roster when that wild ending took place.
But, CBU tried to return the favor on Wednesday night. Tanner Christensen’s and-1 conversion gave Utah Tech a 70-60 lead with 2:03 to play.
But four CBU free throws, a 3-pointer and a layup made it a 1-point game with 14 seconds to play.
This is where it got crazy.
Noa Gonsalves was called for a 5-second call, giving the ball back to CBU. However, after a quick timeout, Hunter Goodrick was called for a 5-second call, giving the ball back to Utah Tech.
Beon Riley sealed the win at the free throw line and Noa Gonsalves blocked a Dominique Daniels Jr. 3-point attempt at the buzzer to secure the win.
Is a surprise the Trailblazers are undefeated in league play? Absolutely. 10 new players. Lost four of five starters and nearly 75 percent of the scoring from the 2022-23 squad that won a game in the 2023 WAC Tournament.
Only Tanner Christensen and Noa Gonsalves returned for Jon Judkins.
But, remember this, Jon Judkins has won over 600 games in his collegiate coaching career. 609, to be exact, after Wednesday’s win.
So, the guy simply knows how to coach. Add in enough youth and players with chips on their shoulders and you can see why the Traiblazers are 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the WAC.
Did we mention that Utah Tech has played just one home game in the first month of the season? That’s right. The Trailblazers were on the road all of November before hosting Utah Valley on Dec. 2 to open WAC play.
Utah Tech will get its second home game of the season on Saturday when Idaho comes to Burns Arena.
Can the Trailblazers shock the world? Perhaps. They have been tested on the road. They have an experienced big man. And, if you weren’t watching on Wednesday night, have some crazy athleticism.
Plus, they have guys that know how to win. One of those guys, freshman Aric Demings, played just 14 minutes on Wednesday due to foul trouble.
A lot of people are buying stock in Utah Tech men’s basketball.
Is it time everyone bought stock?
Stay tuned.