The Southern Utah University men’s basketball team lost 87-60 in their matchup against the Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks. While the Thunderbirds had the opportunity to play a spoiler and alter the Western Athletic Conference standings and head toward the WAC Las Vegas Hercules Tire Tournament, they unfortunately could not prevail.
First half
Southern Utah and Stephen F. Austin began the game trading baskets, and the squads were tied at 17 points with 11 minutes left in the half. Guards Braden Housley and Robert Jeter IV had five points each for SUU, while forwards Brock Felder and Jamari Sibley had four points each. The Thunderbirds had a balanced attack early on, but so did the Lumberjacks.
Latrell Jossell, Jalil Beaubrun and Juhlawnei Stone scored five points each and helped SFA take the lead with eight minutes remaining in the half. The Lumberjacks attacked the Thunderbirds in the paint and used their size to get into an offensive rhythm. SFA created a slight separation with a 27-24 lead over SUU, which was the largest lead by either team thus far.
The Thunderbirds needed to get on the board after Jossell drained a three-point shot. Sibley scored a tough layup, the Lumberjacks came up empty and Zion Young forced a foul against Nana Antwi-Boasiako. Young sank both free throws and put SUU within two points of SFA, 30-28.
The Lumberjacks followed with an 8-0 run led by Breaubrun, who scored four points. Nestor Dyachok ended the run with a three-point basket, making the score 38-31. Unfortunately for SUU, Jossell played great defense. He had a block and steal that helped spark a 6-2 run from the Lumberjacks. Jeter ended the run and made the score 44-33 in favor of SFA. Southern Utah was able to get a dunk off as the time expired, but the Thunderbirds still trailed 44-35.
Second half
Southern Utah started with the ball; Felder missing a layup on the opening possession was followed by a missed three by Jossell. Antwi-Boasiako scored the first field goal of the half, and a turnover from Felder led to a transition three by Matt Hayman that put SFA up 49-36. Prophet Johnson put an end to the run after making a contested layup.
Each time SUU made it a single-digit deficit, SFA went on a small run to regain a sizable lead. With nearly 13 minutes remaining, the Lumberjacks had extended the lead to 58-41. SFA continued to press the SUU offense and force steals, which led to easy layups and dunks in transition. With just under 10 minutes left, the Thunderbirds were able to score their first field goal in over five minutes. The prolonged scoring drought allowed SFA to take a commanding 66-46 lead.
SUU stayed aggressive as Young attacked the basket to draw a foul and head to the line, where he made both free-throw attempts. Housley also scored four points during a 6-2 run for the Thunderbirds, but Jossell answered by scoring four consecutive points. With just under five and a half minutes left in the game, Young was at the free-throw line again and made both attempts. However, the Thunderbirds still trailed by 18 points and could not stop the Lumberjacks from scoring points in the paint.
SFA’s defense was smothering for SUU, and they struggled to close the gap because the Lumberjacks matched their scoring. Jossell drained a three after SFA called a timeout, and Sibley answered back with his basket from beyond the arc, but the Lumberjacks led 78-58.
The Lumberjacks coasted to an 87-60 victory in the final minutes.
Key contributors
— Dominique Ford and Young forced two steals each.
— Sibley led SUU in scoring and rebounding with 14 and nine, respectively.
Deciding factors
— Southern Utah missed Parsa Fallah’s offensive presence.
— SFA outscored SUU 44-30 in the paint.
— Southern Utah struggled from the field and beyond the arc: the Thunderbirds shot 34.5% from the field and 27.8% from three.
Up next
Southern Utah will travel to Edinburg, Texas, to play the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros on Saturday, March 9, at 5:30 p.m. The game is available to stream on ESPN+.
Author: Chevy Blackburn
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
