The Southern Utah University men’s basketball team won in a huge rival conference matchup against Utah Tech University on Thursday, Jan. 18, by 10 points with a final score of 75-65. This win improves SUU to 6-11 overall and 1-5 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Trailblazers move to 7-10 overall and 3-3 in the WAC.
First half
The game started with SUU forward Jamari Sibley winning the tipoff. After rebounding SUU’s missed shot, Utah Tech forward Jaylen Searles scored the first points of the game. Shots were exchanged back and forth early on. The defense on both sides was present as both teams struggled to find rhythm scoring the ball.
The Thunderbirds got their first lead of the game with a score of 12-11 with nine minutes to go in the half. SUU maintained the lead, but no big separation was attained by either side. Both teams played a very physical game, creating a lot of turnovers and defending the basket well. On top of the strong defensive performances, both teams ran into a lot of foul trouble, with Utah Tech having 10 and Southern Utah having nine in the half.
The physical aspect of the game left no standout players in the half on either side and a low score of 31-28 in favor of SUU.
Second half
Coming out of the break, things picked up just like they left off, as there were four fouls in the first 90 seconds of the half. After the early fouls, SUU guard Braden Housley hit a corner three to get the scoring going. Three minutes into the half the score was 36-34 in favor of SUU, but both teams still could not find any consistency scoring the ball.
Four minutes in, Utah Tech was dealt their first technical foul. They were given two more later in the game. After the first technical, the SUU student section came to life. After a few more empty possessions, SUU forward Brock Felder blocked an alley-oop attempt, electrifying the crowd.
This block sparked the Thunderbirds’ offensive confidence. Guard Dominique Ford hit two back-to-back threes to put SUU up 51-44, the biggest lead of the game. SUU carried this momentum to lead a dominant 12-0 scoring run, putting them up 14 with nine minutes left in regulation. This SUU run was led by incredible scoring from Ford and fellow guard Prophet Johnson, as well as dominant defense from forward Parsa Fallah.
Utah Tech tried to make an effort to come back, but they could not get enough stops on defense to cut into the lead and continued to have foul trouble. Utah Tech had three players with five fouls, including center Tanner Christensen, who was ejected with two technical fouls. SUU capitalized on 30 of their 35 free throws, which was key to winning the game.
SUU’s incredible defensive performance resulted in holding Utah Tech’s highest scorer, Searles, to 13 points and secured them a 75-65 victory.
Explosive players
— Johnson scored 23 points.
— Ford scored 23 points and grabbed two steals.
— Fallah scored eight points, 15 rebounds and two steals.
— Searles had 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
Key stats
— Utah Tech committed 28 fouls and allowed SUU to shoot 35 free throws.
— SUU made 30 free throws compared to Utah Tech only making 14.
— There were 32 turnovers in the game.
Next for SUU
The next matchup will be an away game for the Thunderbirds. They will face off against the California Baptist University Lancers on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 6 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Jacob McQueary
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
