Utah Tech Basketball Fends Off Late Cal Baptist Run For Big Road Win

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Utah Tech Trailblazers men’s basketball team fought off a late comeback from the Cal Baptist Lancers to pull out a big conference win, 72-69.

UTT was up by 15 at halftime. Cal Baptist slowly chipped away at the lead in the second half until it was a one-point game with 12 seconds left.

Beon Riley led the way for Utah Tech with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals on 8/10 shooting.

2-0 in conference play🙌#UtahTechBlazers | #UniteTheFamily x #IntoTheStorm pic.twitter.com/W3j2ZNhFgi

— Utah Tech Men’s Basketball (@UtahTechMBB) December 7, 2023

First Half

The Trailblazers came out of the gates running and quickly opened a 6-2 lead.

“Riley lays it up and in and the Trailblazers are off to a hot start on the road, it’s 6-2 Utah Tech.” 🗣️#UtahTechBlazers | #UniteTheFamily x #IntoTheStorm pic.twitter.com/pjU47feSaM

— Utah Tech Men’s Basketball (@UtahTechMBB) December 7, 2023

Utah Tech combined a quick offense with a tough defense and the Lancers were left shocked.

The Trailblazers built the lead with another layup and led by six after seven minutes.

The turn 🤌
The burst 🤌
The finish 🤌#UtahTechBlazers | #UniteTheFamily x #IntoTheStorm pic.twitter.com/4HyFzJfoiw

— Utah Tech Men’s Basketball (@UtahTechMBB) December 7, 2023

Cal Baptist began putting together a response that turned into a real run.

They fought back to tie the game at 14 and then took their first lead since 2-0.

The FINISH 🤌🏻#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/usuFlpCObj

— California Baptist Men’s Basketball (@CBUmbb) December 7, 2023

With four minutes left in the half, Utah Tech went on a massive run.

They turned a two-point lead into a 15-point lead with a 15-2 run that saw lockdown defense from the Blazers.

Hamed Olayinka threw down a nasty posterizing dunk.

HAMED OLAYINKA ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!🤯

.@Sportscenter @espn @wacsports OUR MAN PROMISED US A BODY THIS SEASON AND DELIVERED#UtahTechBlazers | #UniteTheFamily x #IntoTheStorm pic.twitter.com/pvCJzSK016

— Utah Tech Men’s Basketball (@UtahTechMBB) December 7, 2023

The half ended just how you would expect after a run like that.

Unisa Turay ran down the court, hoisted up a three from the logo, and banked it in.

The Trailblazers led by 15 at the break, 41-26.

Finishing the first half with a BANG💥💥#UtahTechBlazers | #UniteTheFamily x #IntoTheStorm pic.twitter.com/yMZToPHqYi

— Utah Tech Men’s Basketball (@UtahTechMBB) December 7, 2023

Second Half

Cal Baptist put up more of a fight in the second half but the deficit proved too big to come back from.

The Lancers opened the half with four quick points.

After a few makes from UTT, they went back on the attack and nailed a few threes to chip away at the lead.

Access Denied 🚫🚫#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/42QDds9g4e

— California Baptist Men’s Basketball (@CBUmbb) December 7, 2023

CBU jumped passing lanes and forced more turnovers in the second half which led to more possessions.

With ten minutes left, the Lancers closed the lead back down to single digits.

Shooters SHOOT. 😮‍💨💯#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/w8ngl7hhOy

— California Baptist Men’s Basketball (@CBUmbb) December 7, 2023

Cal Baptist followed that up with two more quick buckets to drop the lead to four.

Utah Tech slowed down the game and did a good job of slowly building up the lead in the final stretch.

With two minutes left, the Trailblazers regained a double-digit lead, 70-60.

DAGGER🗡️

Beon connects with a clutch triple, tying a career-high for scoring with 19 points and extending the lead to eight💪#UtahTechBlazers | #UniteTheFamily x #IntoTheStorm pic.twitter.com/jtSWPfK1F8

— Utah Tech Men’s Basketball (@UtahTechMBB) December 7, 2023

The Lancers weren’t done though.

Over the next 1:50, CBU went on a 9-0 run. The Utah Tech lead was now just one point with 12 seconds on the clock.

Phenomenal inbound defense from UTT resulted in a five-second violation and the ball back.

The last ten seconds was a free throw game but the Blazers ultimately came out on top, 72-69.

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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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