Southern Utah Storms La Verne With 117-Point Performance
Nov 10, 2022, 9:47 PM | Updated: 9:48 pm
Southern Utah guard Drake Allen (Courtesy of Southern Utah Athletics)
(Courtesy of Southern Utah Athletics)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Southern Utah men’s basketball team stormed past the La Verne Leopards with a 117-point outing to earn the Thunderbirds their first win of the season.
The T-Birds hosted the Leopards at America First Events Center on Thursday, November 10.
SUU soundly defeated La Verne, 117-55.
Feels good to be back home 😁#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/wPmsenJcHh
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) November 11, 2022
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The Leopards owned the game with the first points of the night. John Malone II made a layup with 18:42 remaining in the first half to give La Verne a 2-0 advantage. After Malone’s bucket, the Thunderbirds got on the scoreboard with a Tevian Jones layup 21 seconds after Malone’s shot. 13 seconds after Jones’ field goal, Drake Allen made another layup for SUU to put the T-Birds up 4-2. That two-point deficit was the closest the Leopards would get to the Thunderbirds throughout the rest of the 38 minutes of game time.
SUU finished the evening shooting 53.8 percent overall and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. La Verne was limited to 35.2 percent from the field, including 33.3 percent on three-pointers. The Thunderbirds blitzed the Leopards early and often, forcing 31 turnovers, on their way to building a 63-point lead. SUU outdid La Verne every statistical category from rebounds to blocks.
Five Thunderbirds scored in double-digits and the Leopards’ leading scorers had eight points apiece.
Allen led Southern Utah with 17 points on 8-8 shooting. He added three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the T-Birds’ win. Jason Spurgin, Harrison Butler, and Jones combined for 42 points for Southern Utah. Cameron Healy led the Thunderbirds’ second unit with 12 points off the bench.
DRAKE. ALLEN. enough said 😤#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/SuZxVWPyBV
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) November 11, 2022
With the win, the Thunderbirds improved their record to 1-1 this season, including 1-0 at home.
Southern Utah’s next game at home against the St. Katherine Firebirds on Saturday, November 12 at 7 p.m. (MDT). ESPN Analytics currently gives Southern Utah a 97.6 percent chance at taking down the Firebirds for their second win of the young season.
