The Southern Utah University men’s basketball team lost 78-75 after their matchup against the Utah Valley University Wolverines. Southern Utah moves to 10th in the Western Athletic Conference standings, which is crucial since the WAC Las Vegas Tournament comprises the top eight teams.
First half
Southern Utah jumped to a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes. Jamari Sibley and Parsa Fallah led the way in scoring for the Thunderbirds, combining for 10 points in the first seven minutes.
Osiris Grady was the only Wolverine that was able to score effectively. Grady scored four of UVU’s first eight points. He remained the only source of offense, earning two more points on a putback layup to put the Wolverines within nine points.
The Thunderbirds continued with a balanced attack but primarily focused on Fallah in the low post. Southern Utah’s starters combined for 23 of the team’s 25 points. Dominique Ford added three more after an and-one layup to put SUU up 26-15.
UVU earned many second-chance opportunities, keeping them within reach of the Thunderbirds. Tanner Toolson drained a shot from beyond the arc to close SUU’s lead to six points and put the score at 26-20. After trading a basket for Southern Utah’s two free throws, Utah Valley worked post with Trevin Dorius.
SUU began to go cold, and former Thunderbird Drake Allen made a layup to put the Wolverines within two points. He followed that with a missed layup that became an easy transition dunk for Sibley to make the score 30-26.
Back-to-back baskets from Caleb Stone-Carrawell and Ethan Potter tied the game at 30 points apiece. Fallah answered with a layup, but Potter scored one on the other end. After a dry spell from both teams, Sibley drained a three to break the tie.
The two squads continued to go back and forth for the final minute, but the Thunderbirds managed to head into halftime with a 39-38 lead.
Second half
Each team scored their first baskets but then went scoreless until Ford made an easy layup off an inbound pass. Dorius and Potter scored on consecutive possessions for UVU to take a 45-43 lead over SUU.
After two traded baskets, Ford drained a three to take a one-point lead over the Wolverines. On the next possession, Allen pushed the pace and made a tough layup that gave UVU a 49-48 lead, followed by a timeout from SUU head coach Rob Jeter after five minutes of play.
Southern Utah struggled to guard the pick-and-roll, and Allen took advantage of it, scoring on consecutive possessions to put UVU up 62-55. Stone-Carrawell poured on two more with a contested midrange jumper. Sibley ended the scoring run with a turnaround jumper, but again, Allen got an easy layup after a pick-and-roll.
UVU began to pull away and was up 68-57 with nine minutes left. However, SUU wasn’t done. The Thunderbirds went on a 6-2 run with the help of Zion Young and Fallah. Trevan Leonhardt picked Ford’s pocket and finished the easy transition dunk to make the score 72-63.
With less than six minutes left, the Thunderbirds came up empty on two straight possessions but didn’t allow the Wolverines to score. Young was able to sink two free throws to get SUU back on the board and cut UVU’s lead to seven points. After a loose ball foul, SUU was back to the charity stripe, and this time, Ford made both free throws to score 72-67.
Southern Utah forced a turnover on the next possession, which led to a timeout from UVU head coach Todd Phillips. Braden Housley scored a contested layup to put SUU within three points, but Stone-Carrawell went to the basket and scored a layup on multiple Thunderbirds.
With UVU’s lead at 76-71, Fallah tracked down an offensive rebound and made an and-one layup. He completed the three-point play at the free-throw line, and SUU forced UVU to call a timeout to avoid a five-second violation. Toolson missed a shot from beyond the arc that would have put the Wolverines up five points, but he didn’t make it and fouled Housley on the rebound.
Housley made the first free throw but missed the second from the charity stripe, making it 76-75 in favor of UVU. Potter missed an easy floater, and Fallah hauled in the rebound. After advancing the ball, SUU called a timeout to draw up a play with less than 35 seconds remaining.
Sibley missed the three-point shot coming out of the timeout, but Young got the rebound and missed a contested putback layup. After a loose ball, the Thunderbirds obtained possession. The play was drawn up for Young, and after a lot of contact and no foul called, he missed again.
With less than 10 seconds remaining, the Thunderbirds had to foul and intentionally put Stone-Carrawell on the free-throw line. He sank both of them, which put the Wolverines up 78-75. Southern Utah advanced the ball, but with defenders smothering Ford, SUU elected to take a timeout with 1.2 seconds left.
Jeter drew up the final play for Young, but he could not make the three with two Wolverines in his face.
Key contributors
— Every Southern Utah starter scored in double figures.
— Sibley earned a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
— Fallah scored efficiently and shot 64.3% from the field, making 9/14 shot attempts.
Deciding Factors
— Southern Utah’s pick-and-roll defense allowed too many easy points at the rim.
— Utah Valley scored 22 second-chance points compared to the Thunderbirds’ 11.
Up next
Southern Utah will travel to Arlington, Texas, to play the Mavericks on Thursday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. The game is available to stream on ESPN+.
Author: Chevy Blackburn
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
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