The Southern Utah University men’s basketball team faced off against Middle Tennessee State University in an exciting home match up. The Blue Raiders held a small lead at the half, but SUU stayed right with them the entire time. Great second half scoring from SUU combined with a lack of free throws and an abundance of turnovers for MTSU led the Thunderbirds to a 69-63 victory.
First half
The Blue Raiders came out of the gate hot, scoring from all ranges and quickly building an 11-2 lead in the first three minutes of regulation. Southern Utah regrouped and found their offensive rhythm but struggled to get stops on the defensive side of the ball, allowing Middle Tennessee to go up 18-7 five minutes into the game.
After the slow start, momentum picked up for the Thunderbird offense as they cut the Blue Raiders’ lead down to three points, forcing a timeout with a 18-15 score in favor of MTSU. The scoring surge was led by a three-pointer from SUU guard Braden Housley and great post play from forward Parsa Fallah. The Thunderbirds stayed persistent on both ends of the ball and took their first lead of the night with eight minutes left in the half.
Middle Tennessee responded with a 10-0 scoring run led by Blue Raider guard Jestin Porter. Porter had a standout half, scoring the ball with 18 points and shooting 3/3 from three-point range.
Neither team gained a significant lead in the half due to both teams missing shots and forcing turnovers. Baskets were exchanged back and forth in the last two minutes of the half, leaving MTSU up 37-31 at the break.
Second half
Coming out of the half, both teams struggled to get shots to go down. In the first three minutes, they each only got one shot to fall. After the scoring drought, SUU went on a 7-0 run to make the score 41-40 in favor of MTSU.
With 12 minutes left in the game, the Blue Raiders were holding on to a 49-42 lead, but SUU caught right back up. Housley tied the game at 51 by scoring a three-pointer with nine minutes to go. Shortly after, the Thunderbirds took their first lead of the half with a two-point shot from Fallah. SUU continued to play strong and led for the rest of the game.
MTSU tried to take back the lead with great scoring efforts from Porter and guard Justin Bufford, but they could not get stops on defense, allowing a lot of turnovers and running into serious foul trouble. Fallah and guard Zion Young led the scoring for SUU, while Housley and forward Brock Felder held down the defense. SUU did great at passing and protecting the ball with a season-low three turnovers. This great second-half performance from the Thunderbirds led to a 69-63 victory, bringing their season record to 4-8.
Explosive players
— Fallah had 20 points and nine rebounds.
— Young had 16 points.
— Housley scored 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals.
— Porter had 26 points, five rebounds and three assists.
— Bufford scored 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Key stats
— SUU had a season-low three turnovers and forced 16.
— SUU only had nine fouls, while MTSU had 20.
— SUU only allowed MTSU one free throw.
— SUU made fewer shots from the field than MTSU, but SUU made 12 more free throws, which won the game for Thunderbirds.
Up next for Southern Utah
Southern Utah University will take on the University of Antelope Valley at home in their next matchup on Dec. 30 at 6:30 p.m. The game can be attended at the America First Event Center or streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Jacob McQueary
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
