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LAS VEGAS — Cameron Gooden took the Trailblazers to overtime, and Isaiah Pope did the rest.
Gooden had 22 points and five assists, and Pope finished with 14 points, four rebounds and five assists as Utah Tech men's basketball earned the first postseason win in the program's short Division I era with an 80-76 overtime victory over Stephen F. Austin at the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
Dancel Later scored 12 points, including the first 6 in overtime, for Utah Tech (14-18). But it all started with Pope, whose five assists helped the Trailblazers make all five of their field goal attempts in overtime.
"He sees the court really well. Isaiah is good at a lot of things, but his best is he sees the floor," said Utah Tech 18th-year head coach Jon Judkins of Pope. "These seniors, they don't want it to end. They were ready to go 40 minutes, and then another 40 minutes, and another 40 minutes."
For a group of seniors like Pope and Gooden, as well as juniors like Frank Staine who have been with the team since the Trailblazers jumped to Division I with an invitation to join the WAC in 2019, the moment hit hard.
"I'm super emotional right now. I cried before the game and after the game," said Staine, who had 18 points and five rebounds. "It's been an emotional time, especially for me, being here in we were D-II. ... I'm just really proud of my guys. There were times where we could've quit, and we came back to practice every Monday, ready to go."
#WACvegas | @UtahTechMBB Coach Jon Judkins talks with @Kendrasheehan_ in our @signaturerings post game interview ‼️ pic.twitter.com/9wcxI2z4nq
— The Western Athletic Conference (@WACsports) March 8, 2023
Gooden did all his scoring in regulation to help the Trailblazers to a 62-62 stalemate at the end of regulation. No team led by more than 3 in the extra session until Pope scored on an and-one play with 1:13 left to go up 74-71.
Utah Tech never trailed again and held the Lumberjacks to just two field goals — including an inconsequential 3-pointer by Latrell Jossell in the final second — in the final 1:12 to secure the win.
"This is what it's about in March," Gooden said. "We're gonna regroup and reload, and try to get the job done again on Thursday."
Jossell had 17 points and four assists to lead Stephen F. Austin (19-13).
The 11th-seeded Trailblazers advanced to face rival Southern Utah in Thursday's semifinals. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. MST on ESPN+.
Thursday will also include WAC regular-season champion and second-seeded Utah Valley (24-7) opening the tournament against Tarleton State, which knocked off UT Rio Grande Valley 74-70 in Tuesday's first round.
The Texans (17-15) are one of just three teams in the WAC to beat the Wolverines during the regular season via a 77-58 stunner on Feb. 23 in Stephenville, Texas.
"They're really good," Tarleton coach Billy Gillispie said of UVU. "We only played them once, and we got lucky that night; we were at our best, and they might not have had some foul trouble. ... They've got a great coach and a great program. Believe me; they'll be waiting on us. But we'll be there to compete with them."
