The Southern Utah University men’s basketball team was defeated by Grand Canyon University on Thursday, Jan. 4, by a score of 96-75. The Thunderbirds fall to 5-9 overall and 0-3 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Lopes improve to 13-1 and 3-0 in the WAC.
First half
It was a back-and-forth first half with 12 total lead changes, six by each team. Southern Utah was hot early, nailing 2/3 three-pointers to control the game and leading 14-11 at the first media timeout.
GCU guard Tyon Foster-Grant scored 11 first-half points, hitting shots from all over the court. SUU center Parsa Fallah had a team-high 14 points in the period. Both teams continued to battle late in the first half before the Lopes went on a 10-2 run to lead 43-36 at halftime.
Second half
Grand Canyon guard Ray Harrison helped to gain the momentum at the start of the second half by securing four points and two assists. The Lopes outscored the Thunderbirds 13-6 before the first media timeout to lead 56-42.
GCU kept the lead above 10 points for the rest of the second half as their advantage peaked at 25 with just under 12 minutes left. A big reason for the Lopes’ second-half success was the play of junior guard Collin Moore. He recorded a career-high five steals, all of which came in the second half.
The Lopes were nearly unstoppable in the second, shooting 59% from the floor and scoring 53 points en route to a 96-75 victory.
Post-game interview
Southern Utah’s Fallah explained what went wrong on the defensive end. “I think our problem is not offense. We’re struggling to guard, and it’s not just GCU — it’s all of the teams,” Fallah said. “On defense, we need to do better.”
Fallah also talked about the wear and tear of the game.
“I think we got tired, too. It was a hard game; it was a physical game. [The] first half, we were right there, but in the second half, me personally, I just got so tired,” Fallah said. “They had so many offensive rebounds and shot so well off of them. We just need to guard better.”
Key statistics
— For Southern Utah, Fallah poured in a team-high 24 points on 10/13 shooting with seven rebounds.
— For GCU, Foster-Grant scored 27 points on 11/19 from the field.
— Grand Canyon was a perfect 15/15 from the free-throw line.
— SUU scored just 38 points in the paint compared to 56 for the Lopes.
What’s next?
The Thunderbirds will head to Orem on Saturday, Jan. 6, to take on Utah Valley University at 2 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Brig Pyfer
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
