The Southern Utah University men’s basketball team picked up their second consecutive win in a strong performance against the University of Antelope Valley Pioneers. Southern Utah led through most of the first half with Antelope Valley staying right behind. However, with an efficient scoring performance and a season-high 13 steals, the Thunderbirds dominated the second half and secured a 95-78 victory.
First half
The Thunderbirds won the tip-off and quickly found offensive rhythm, hitting four three-pointers in the first six minutes of regulation. Great scoring and passing got the Thunderbirds an early 18-8 lead over Antelope Valley. After the rocky start, Antelope Valley started getting shots to go down, but they couldn’t catch up to SUU, leaving themselves down 25-20 with 10 minutes to go.
The last 10 minutes were electric for both teams. Each team was scoring well and getting a handful of defensive stops. SUU stayed in the lead for the remainder of the time, but Antelope Valley put up a good fight, only being down 37-35 with four minutes left. The Pioneers played great as a team, with all players contributing throughout the half. For SUU, offense was led by guards Zion Young, who finished the half with 12 points, and Braden Housley, who had nine points, three assists and two steals.
The Thunderbirds were able to slightly pull away in the last two minutes and held a 44-37 lead at the break.
Second half
Coming out of the break, both teams continued scoring the ball efficiently. The back-and-forth scoring resulted in a score of 50-44 in favor of SUU within the first two minutes of the half. After this short shootout, the Thunderbirds found offensive momentum and began creating a lot of turnovers. With 15 minutes remaining, SUU was up 59-46.
Antelope Valley made good efforts to catch up behind strong scoring performances from guards Michael Hayes and Christian Taylor, but the Pioneers could only get within nine points of the Thunderbirds’ lead. SUU took a 74-63 lead with nine minutes left and held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.
This scoring run to close out the game was fueled by SUU guards Prophet Johnson, Dominique Ford, Housley and Young along with forward Chazz Hutchison, who all scored double-digit points. The efficient scoring combined with great defense led the Thunderbirds to their 95-78 victory. This win improves SUU’s record to 5-8 on the season.
Explosive players
— Johnson secured a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds along with four steals.
— Ford scored 19 points.
— Housley put up 22 points, six assists and four steals.
— Young scored 16 points and three steals.
— Hutchinson scored 10 points and nine rebounds.
— Taylor put up 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
— Hayes scored 16 points, six assists and three steals.
Key stats
— SUU had a season-high 13 steals.
— SUU scored seven more three-pointers than Antelope Valley.
— SUU had 10 turnovers and forced 19.
Up next for Southern Utah
Southern Utah University will take on the Grand Canyon University Lopes at home in their next matchup on Jan. 4 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
