Basketball Game Preview: Morgan Trojans vs. Uintah Utes

The Morgan Trojans and the Uintah Utes will round out the year against one another at at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Morgan sitting on six straight wins and Uintah on nine.

Last Friday, Morgan really took it to Stansbury for the full four quarters, racking up a 73-35 victory. The Trojans have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four contests by 23 points or more this season.

Morgan's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kolton Asay led the charge by going 7 for 12 on his way to 19 points and five rebounds. Asay 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.

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 had just enough and edged Riverton out 53-50. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Utes have posted since December 12, 2023.

Uintah had a senior duo take command as Gideon Owen went 6 of 9 en route to 12 points along with seven rebounds and three steals and Dauson Gardiner almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine boards. 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.

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

Morgan strolled past Uintah in their previous meeting back in December of 2018 by a score of 77-58. Will Morgan repeat their success, or does Uintah have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.