Intrastate foes Utah, Utah Tech seek return to win column

Utah and Utah Tech will look to reverse their fortunes on Friday afternoon in Salt Lake City when they meet in an intrastate showdown.

The Utes (3-1) are coming off a disappointing 78-73 road loss against Mississippi State on Sunday after leading by double digits at halftime. The Trailblazers (1-3) fell 86-69 at Wyoming last Saturday.

"You know, a couple plays here or there and the score flips, and we're super happy," Utah coach Craig Smith told ESPN 700 in Salt Lake City. "This is a good team we just played (Sunday), and it's that type of team we're going to see in the Big 12."

Miro Little gave Utah a 39-28 lead at the break after hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, but Mississippi State began the second half with a 22-5 surge and punished the Utes in the final minutes from the free-throw line, draining 7 of 8 attempts in the final 73 seconds.

Utah's leading scorer, Gabe Madsen, was limited to nine points while going 1-for-10 from 3-point territory. Ezra Ausar topped Utah with 15 points, Mason Madsen scored 14 and Keanu Dawes chipped in with his first career double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The Friday game kicks off a six-game homestand for Utah, which won the first three games of the season by at least 31 points.

Utah Tech will take on Utah for just the third time in history. The first game was a 41-26 Utah win in 1928. Much more recently, the Utes won 83-64 on Jan. 9, 2008.

The Trailblazers are in the early stages of an eight-game road trip. It began in Wyoming and will include a three-game stop at the Stew Morrill Classic in Missoula, Mont., before continuing on at Portland State, Boise State and Utah State.

Tennessee Rainwater led Utah Tech against Wyoming with a career-best 16 points, while Beon Riley (14), Noa Gonsalves (13) and Britton Berrett (12) also had double-digit scoring outings.

Utah Tech's only win this season was a 90-59 home victory over Bethesda of the National Christian College Athletic Association.

--Field Level Media