The Southern Utah University men’s basketball team suffered a tough loss against Saint Mary’s College of California on Monday Nov. 15, 70-51.
The loss moves the Thunderbirds to 1-2 so far this season.
Southern Utah grabbed the early lead after senior Maizen Fausett scored to make it a 6-4 Thunderbird lead at the 17:14 mark. The Gales stormed back and took the lead near the halfway point in the first half, 10-9. Near the end of the first half, SUU cut the deficit to three but Saint Mary’s answered back with a 10-0 run. The half-time score was 29-16.
In the second half, the Gales never looked back and had their largest lead of the game with nine minutes left to play 58-31. The Thunderbirds made impressive plays throughout the second half but it was not enough with Saint Mary’s taking the win.
The Thunderbirds finished with two players scoring in double digits. Senior guard John Knight III finished with 11 points and senior forward Tevian Jones with 10. Fausett led the Thunderbirds in rebounds, pulling in 14 and tying his season high.
Saint Mary’s finished with four players scoring in the double digits. The Gales ended the contest, shooting 40 percent from the field and 34 percent from the three point line.
SUU could not find the basket, shooting 35 percent from the field and shooting 15 percent behind the arc.
The Thunderbirds will continue their road trip and will face University of California, Berkeley in the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off on Thursday, Nov. 18. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. MT with live broadcasting on the PAC-12 Network.
Story By: Anthony Colasuono
Sports@suunews.net
Photo Courtesy of SUU Athletics
