The Southern Utah University men’s basketball team faced off against conference No. 2 California Baptist University on Saturday, March 7, for the final game of the season. It was a duel between SUU’s Elijah Duval and CBU’s Dominique Daniels Jr., who both turned in 30-point performances. The T-Birds fell 82-75, but gave it their all to close out the year.
SUU ends the year with a 10-21 record, tied for their lowest win total since the 2016-17 season. They hold the No. 5 seed and will face the University of Texas at Arlington in Las Vegas for the Western Athletic Conference tournament. They went 6-12 in conference play.
CBU ends the year with a 23-8 record and a 13-5 conference record. They finished right behind Utah Valley University in the conference standings, but may become the No. 1 seed if Utah Valley is disallowed from competing in the tournament.
First half
The teams started the battle trading points, with CBU taking an early six-point lead just five minutes into the game.
After about a minute and a half of no scoring from either side, the Lancers went on a 24-6 run that pushed the lead to a seemingly-insurmountable point.
With just seven minutes left in the half, the Lancers took a 20 point lead over the Thunderbirds. SUU did their best to claw their way into the game again, ending the period on a 9-2 run.
As the half ended, the Thunderbirds found themselves down 45-32. They were fantastic from two-point range this half, shooting 61%, but they went an abysmal 1-10 from three.
Second half
Despite the discouraging first half against a powerful opponent, the T-Birds still had life coming into the second half. They managed to shave the lead down to single digits within the first half of the period.
In a similar fashion to what happened in their last game against UVU, SUU head coach Rob Jeter decided to throw on a full court press with 14 minutes left in the game. The defensive scheme threw in a much-needed energy for the Thunderbirds.
Thanks in large part to the defense of Logan Stephens, the Thunderbirds were able to slow down CBU’s Daniels and keep the Lancers’ lead in the low teens or better.
With three minutes left, SUU had managed to make it a one-possession game. Despite turnovers and missed shots from both teams over the next two minutes, Daniels was able to score twice in a row to keep the Lancers afloat.
With both teams playing the free throw game, Daniels saved the game for his team yet again. He made four of CBU’s six free throws in the final 30 seconds, pushing the lead from three points to nine. There was nothing left for SUU to do as they lost 82-75.
Key stats
— SUU shot 4-19, or 21.1%, from three-point range. They shot 56.8% from two-point range.
— SUU recorded eight steals to CBU’s two, but CBU scored more points off turnovers.
— CBU led for the entire game.
— SUU was out-rebounded 37-29.
Top T-Birds
— Duval marked a new career-high with 30 points. He also led the team in steals and assists with four each while also grabbing four rebounds. Duval won his fourth WAC Newcomer of the Week Award for his performances this week.
— Jaiden Feroah had 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
— Kai Burdick nearly had a double-double, recording nine points, a team-leading eight rebounds, two assists and a block.
— Cale Barclay had 14 points, two rebounds and two steals off the bench.
What’s next?
The Thunderbirds will head to Las Vegas to compete in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. The winner of that tournament gets an automatic bid to March Madness. They will start off by facing UT Arlington on Thursday, March 12, at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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Author: Mitch Wilson
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis
