The Southern Utah University men’s basketball team was defeated by Seattle University on Thursday, Feb. 15, by a score of 78-68.
With the loss, SUU falls to 9-16 overall and 4-10 in Western Athletic Conference play. Seattle moves to 15-10 and No. 3 in the WAC at 8-6.
First half
Early on, the teams were knotted at 10. From that point on, it was all Seattle, outscoring SUU 15-4 over the next eight minutes. In that span, the Thunderbirds shot a brutal 0/10 from the floor, their only points coming from four free throws.
Seattle’s John Christofilis dominated the first half, scoring a game-high 18 points on a blistering 7/10 shooting. The redshirt sophomore scored eight straight points to put the Redhawks up 34-23 late.
The Thunderbirds’ cold shooting continued late in the half, but a spurt from junior Dominique Ford scored six of SUU’s last 11 points and brought the deficit to 14. They trailed 39-25 at the half.
The Thunderbirds converted just 28.5% of their attempts, shooting only 8/28. The Redhawks shot 14/28 from the floor.
Second half
After an unimpressive first half, Southern Utah came out firing to start the second. The Thunderbirds started on a 12-0 run, diminishing the lead to two points. Unfortunately for them, that was the closest SUU got the rest of the game, as Seattle’s Cameron Tyson immediately boosted an 8-2 run with two three-pointers.
The Redhawks continued to expand the lead, going on a 9-0 run in which four different players converted the four baskets. The Thunderbirds didn’t go away; Robert Jeter lV denied Redhawk forward Malek Gomma at the rim, and Prophet Johnson scored four points and assisted a Parsa Fallah layup that shrunk the lead to 12.
The Redhawks once again extended their lead, pushing it to 18 with just under six minutes remaining. Ford and Jamari Sibley both scored multiple baskets, but it was too late and the Redhawks held the double-digit lead to win 78-68.
Seattle shot just under 50% from the floor and converted six of 13 three-point attempts. SUU shot 50% from the floor, but it wasn’t enough to make up for their inadequate first half.
Key Redhawk statistics
— Christofilis tallied his second-most points in a game this season, pouring in 25 points on an efficient 10/16 from the floor.
— Tyson had 18 points, converting 6/13 of his attempts, with three assists and three turnovers.
— Alex Schumacher led the Redhawks with four assists. He also added nine points, four rebounds and three steals.
— Seattle added 20 bench points, whileSUU had just seven.
Key Thunderbird statistics
— Ford had 16 points on 50% shooting, five assists, four rebounds and a team-leading three steals.
— Sibley totaled a team-high 17 points on 8/15 from the floor. He added seven rebounds and two assists.
— Zion Young went 7/10 from the free-throw line, scoring 11 points in 17 minutes.
What’s next?
The Thunderbirds will welcome Utah Valley University on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 6:30 p.m. The Wolverines sit at No. 7 in the WAC at 6-8 with an overall record of 11-14. The matchup can be streamed through ESPN+.
Author: Brig Pyfer
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
