Basketball Game Preview: Uintah Utes vs. Morgan Trojans

The Uintah Utes will wrap up 2024 with a road trip to face off against the Morgan Trojans at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Uintah sitting on nine straight victories and Morgan on six.

While Uintah didn't have the best season last year (they finished 6-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Riverton 53-50. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Utes have posted since December 12, 2023.

Uintah had a senior duo take command as Gideon Owen went 6 of 9 on his way to 12 points along with seven boards and three steals and Dauson Gardiner almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds. Those three steals set a new season-high mark for Owen. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaxon Jenson, who posted nine points.

Uintah smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Morgan was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past Stansbury 73-35. The Trojans have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matchups by 23 points or more this season.

Morgan's win came from a few key players Uintah will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kolton Asay, who went 7 of 12 on his way to 19 points and five rebounds. He is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last four games he's played. Bracken Saunders was another key player, going 7 of 13 on his way to 17 points along with five assists and four steals.

Morgan's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-1. As for Uintah, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 9-1.

Uintah lost to Morgan on the road by a decisive 77-58 margin in their previous matchup back in December of 2018. Thankfully for Uintah, Trey Miles (who went 9 of 15 on his way to 22 points and five steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.