CEDAR CITY, Utah — The Southern Utah University lost 70-67 to the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners, eliminating them from the CollegeInsiders.com Postseason Tournament.
The T-Birds finish the season at 17-17 overall, their best record since 2006-07 when they went 16-14.
SUU trailed 65-58 with 53 seconds to play before they closed the gap to three with four seconds left. Dre Marin attempted a last second shot to force overtime but it was no good as the team’s comeback effort fell just short.
“Obviously the last one is always tough, especially once you get into postseason play,” SUU head coach Todd Simon said. “I thought our guys fought and battled, and that’s a good team that’s found their way in the post season … We just didn’t make enough baskets. We’ve been a great free throw shooting team for most of this year and we missed 15 free throws, and we had so many in-and-out threes, at the end of the day we just need to make more baskets.”
SUU shot a dismal 35 percent from the field, going 15-for-42 in the game. Brandon Better was a bright spot as he led SUU with 20 points, shooting 4-for-8 from the field in his last game as a T-Bird.
“I didn’t know it was going to be my last game, and there’s a lot of emotions going into it,” Better said following the contest. “It’s kind of sad, but I’m happy I’m doing it with these guys. So I’m just happy that I’m here with these guys and that we had the season we did.”
Neither team shot the ball well in the first half as CSUB went 9-for-32 (28 per cent) and SUU shot 6-for-20 (30 percent). The Roadrunners would enter the half with a narrow 25-23 lead.
CSUB heated up in the second half as they jumped out to an eight point lead at 35-28 with 16:29 to play. They would hold their lead the rest of the way as Greg Lee led the Roadrunners with 15 points.
Junior Cameron Oluyitan and sophomore Dre Marin both finished with double-digits, scoring 13 and eleven points respectively.
Story by: Aaron Peterson
aapete3232@gmail.com
Photo Courtesy of SUU Athletics Strategic Communication
