Now on a five-game skid, the Southern Utah University men’s basketball team lost to the University of Texas at Arlington on Feb. 22 by a score of 90-85. The UTA Mavericks have won six of their last 10 and entered the game in fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference resume seeding system. Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds are sitting in 10th.
The game was rather high-scoring, and both teams seemed to have trouble missing shots. They both shot over 50% from the field. DaJuan Gordon led UTA in scoring after putting up 23 points on 8/12 shooting, including 2/2 from three-point range. He fell just short of a double-double with his nine rebounds, as well. Phillip Russell and Aaron Cash followed close behind with 19 and 16 points, respectively, and each hit three shots from behind the arc.
Southern Utah’s Dominique Ford has been a top scorer in the WAC all season, and he kept up his reputation by leading all scorers with 24 points. Five of his six made field goals came from three-point range, a season high for him.
The Thunderbirds hit the court running, going on a 9-0 run to start the game. Once they built their lead to double digits, they held it for the majority of the first half. As the clock neared the four-minute mark, Russell hit a fastbreak layup to light a spark for the Mavericks. The next five points also belonged to Russell after he hit another layup and a three-pointer before the Thunderbirds had an answer. UTA ended the half on a 9-4 run to bring Southern Utah to a narrow 39-37 lead at the break.
Gordon came out of the locker room hungry. He started the second half’s scoring with a dunk and a three in a matter of seconds. From there, the teams traded shots, and neither gained a substantial lead until UTA found themselves up by eight about halfway through the period. SUU never got another taste of the lead, but they never gave up, either. Though the game continued to be a shootout from threes to free throws, the Mavericks shot just a bit better to come out on top.
Key stats
— UTA outrebounded SUU 36-30, with 11 offensive boards leading to 15 second-chance points and 25 defensive boards contributing to 25 fastbreak points.
— UTA had 34 points off the bench.
— Starter Jamari Sibley struggled to find open shots for SUU and only scored three points, but he led the team in rebounds with seven.
— Russell dished out eight assists for UTA, tying the team’s season high.
Next up
Southern Utah has just four games remaining on their schedule. Coming up, they will have a two-game homestand starting with a matchup against Abilene Christian University. The game will be on Thursday, Feb. 29, at 6:30 p.m. and can be attended in the America First Event Center or streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Anden Garfield
Photographer: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
