Coming off of a two-game winning streak, the Southern Utah University men’s basketball team headed to Corvallis, Oregon to face Oregon State University on Saturday, Dec. 6. Despite putting up a big second half, SUU lost 81-70.
With the loss, the T-Birds hold a 4-7 record. They still have just one road win and one win against a National Collegiate Athletics Association opponent.
The Beavers rise to a record of 5-5 with each win coming at home.
First half
Oregon State scored the first five points of the game with both shots coming from SUU turnovers. The Thunderbirds scored two points in the first three minutes.
The Beavers then went on a 10-2 run but SUU fired back with six straight points to cut the lead to four. OSU’s Ja’Quavis Williford then scored five straight points to build the Beavers’ lead back up.
Oregon State kept the intensity, scoring 11 straight points to go up 36-16 with five and a half minutes left. SUU would end the half on a 7-0 run, but still tailed 45-30 at the break.
SUU went 12-19 inside the three-point line in the period, but only 2-10 from three. OSU shot 7-10 from beyond the arc.
Second half
SUU came out on fire, scoring six of the first eight points. This half was more physical than the other, with 30 combined free-throw attempts compared to three in the first half.
By the halfway point of the period, SUU cut Oregon State’s lead to 11. Southern Utah played the foul game and brought the deficit to 10.
The advantage hovered around 10 until there were five minutes left, when Jaiden Feroah knocked down a three then sank two free throws on the next possession to cut the lead to eight.
OSU then shut down SUU’s rally, scoring five straight points and holding the T-Birds to zero points until there was a minute and a half left. Southern Utah got back-to-back threes, but the comeback had fizzled out and Oregon State won 81-70.
Key stats
— Seven different players scored in double digits
— SUU shot 30.4% from three, while OSU shot 42.1% despite going 1-9 in the second half
— Oregon State’s bench scored 20 points while Southern Utah’s scored nine.
— Nearly every T-Bird who played recorded a steal.
Top T-Birds
— Isaiah Cottrell had eight points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
— Elijah Duval led the team with six rebounds while notching 11 points, four assists and a steal.
— Feroah’s five assists, four steals and a season-best 27 points were all team-highs. He shot 55.6% from three, accounting for five of SUU’s seven threes.
— Tanner Hayhurst recorded 11 points, three assists and two rebounds.
Up next
SUU will head to Seattle to take on the University of Washington on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 4 p.m. That game can be watched on the Big Ten Network.
Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Jack Paul
