On Thursday, Mar. 5, the Southern Utah University men’s basketball team battled against conference No. 1 Utah Valley University. The T-Birds fought hard until the very end but ended up losing 92-88.
With the loss, the Thunderbirds now hold a 10-20 record on the season. They’ve gone 6-11 in conference play.
The Wolverines secured their second-straight regular season conference title with the victory. They hold a 23-7 record and have gone 13-4 in conference play.
First half
The game quickly got intense as UVU took a commanding 10-3 lead just three minutes into the game.
The Thunderbirds found themselves down by 10 just six minutes into the game, but came back swinging. In three minutes, they shaved the lead down to three points.
The Wolverines kept fighting to keep the lead and went on a big run in the final two minutes of the half. UVU’s 10-6 run in the final minutes gave them a commanding 53-39 lead over the T-Birds at halftime.
Isaiah Cottrell kept the T-Birds in the game early on by hitting three triples in the first half. Two of them came in the last few minutes before the break.
Second half
Southern Utah scored the first points of the back half due to a foul call that took Tanner Hayhurst to the stripe.
After he knocked down both free throws, the T-Birds struggled to take care of the ball. The Wolverines picked up a 19-point lead with 13 minutes left in the match.
Both teams played physically to close the game. SUU started placing a full court press on UVU after the large deficit.
After the sudden turn-around, the T-Birds found themselves down by 10 with four and a half minutes left. However, they were able to keep pining for a victory thanks to foul trouble from the Wolverines.
With just 30 seconds left in the game, SUU found themselves down by seven and played the free throw game hoping for some misses from UVU. Overall, the Wolverines went 8-10 from the line, and the Thunderbirds were not able to complete the comeback. They made an effort but lost 92-88.
Top T-Birds
— Elijah Duval led the team in scoring with 20 points, assists with four and rebounds with four.
— Kai Burdick had 16 points and four rebounds, going a perfect 8-8 from the field.
— Cottrell was able to put up 15 points in just six shots while also bringing in two blocks.
— Jaiden Feroah joined Cottrell’s block party and added in his own pair of blocks while also scoring nine points.
— Cale Barclay also joined the double digits club, putting up 12 points to add to the T-Birds’ offensive engine.
What’s next?
The T-Birds will be closing out the regular season on Saturday, March 7, at home at 6:30. They will be facing off against California Baptist University before heading off to the conference tournament next week. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Previous men’s basketball article ——– Next men’s basketball article
Author: Mitch Wilson
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis
