With only one homestand remaining in the season, the Southern Utah University men’s basketball team is set for a quick turnaround of games this week. They’ll face California Baptist University in the America First Events Center on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m., then take on the University of Texas at Arlington on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 1 p.m.
Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
SUU holds an 8-16 record and has gone 4-7 in conference play. They’ve gone on a relatively strong streak since starting the season 4-13.
The T-Birds have had some nail-bitingly close games recently. Their last two have been decided by three points.
However, both of those games came against the two teams below SUU in the Western Athletic Conference standings. Southern Utah’s win against conference No. 1 Utah Valley University on Jan. 21 was their only victory against a better WAC team this year.
The Thunderbirds are 6-3 at home and lost by just three points to CBU on Jan. 10. That’s a promising sign for the team as they look to improve before the WAC Tournament.
California Baptist
CBU is a strong team, with an 18-6 overall record and 8-3 WAC standing. Both records tie them with UVU for the top spot in the conference.
Those three conference losses were all consecutive at the beginning of WAC play. Since then, the Lancers have set a new win streak record with eight triumphs in a row. v
California Baptist has been unbelievable at home, winning all 12 games. However, they’ve been lukewarm on the road, going 6-6.
The Lancers are led by Dominique Daniels Jr. The grad student guard leads his team in points and assists while ranking among the top in steals.
UT Arlington
The Mavericks sit at No. 4 in the WAC. They hold a 14-9 record and have gone 6-5 in conference play.
They started strong with a 6-2 WAC standing, but have lost three games in a row. Two of those were overtime losses, including a double-overtime three-point loss to Utah Tech University.
UTA’s top player is undoubtedly Raysean Seamster. The senior forward leads the Mavericks in points, rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage while also ranking No. 2 in assists and steals.
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Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Andrew Streeter
