SUU’s Second Half Defense Carries Thunderbirds To Win Over NAU
Jan 31, 2022, 6:52 PM
Courtesy of Southern Utah Athletics
SALT LAKE CITY – The Southern Utah men’s basketball team locked down on defense over the final 20 minutes of game time to capture a win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
The T-Birds hosted the Lumberjacks on Monday, January 31.
Southern Utah was originally slated to hosted Northern Arizona on January 8 but the game was postponed due to COVID-19 cases.
On the rescheduled date, SUU beat NAU, 78-66.
After Northern Arizona outscored Southern Utah by three points in the first half and took a 41-38 lead into the locker room at halftime, the Thunderbirds responded with a big defensive effort to close out the contest.
JK'S 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th point… making history moves ⚡️
@_Jgotti3 pic.twitter.com/GEAIRO9vv9
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 1, 2022
SUU held NAU to only 25 points over the final 20 minutes of action and the T-Birds outscored the Lumberjacks by 15 points.
Southern Utah finished the game shooting 47.3 percent overall and 48.3 percent from beyond the arc. John Knight III led the T-Birds with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, one steal, and a block.
CANNOT BLOCK JK3 ❌
@_Jgotti3 pic.twitter.com/p2yUQ6oxRp
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 1, 2022
With the win, the Thunderbirds improved their record to 13-6 overall and 7-2 in Big Sky Conference games.
Southern Utah’s next game is at home against the Idaho Vandals on Thursday, February 3 at 7 p.m. (MDT).
