Southern Utah Battles Past Stephen F. Austin For Third Straight Win
Jan 14, 2023, 3:25 PM
Southern Utah forward Maizen Fausett (Courtesy of SUU Athletics)
(Courtesy of SUU Athletics)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Southern Utah men’s basketball team handled business against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks for the T-Birds’ third consecutive victory.
The Thunderbirds hosted the Lumberjacks at America First Events Center on Saturday, January 14.
SUU beat Stephen F. Austin, 67-58.
Big time win 😤#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/rHAtJELPv5
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) January 14, 2023
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The Lumberjacks arrived in Cedar City sitting in first place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 13-5 overall record, including a perfect 5-0 start in league play. Stephen F. Austin will leave Southern Utah with its first WAC loss of the year after struggling against the Thunderbirds’ defense.
The first 20 minutes of the contest went back and forth on the scoreboard. Southern Utah took a slight edge into the locker room with a 31-29 lead. After the break, the Lumberjacks and T-Birds continued to battle for the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
With 13 minutes left to play, Stephen F. Austin had a multi-possession lead and was in position to close out the game before a burst by the Thunderbirds. SUU regained the lead two minutes later and never trailed again. The T-Birds held off the Lumberjacks down the stretch to close out a nine-point victory.
Southern Utah finished the afternoon shooting 49.0 percent overall and 32.0 percent from beyond the arc. Stephen F. Austin shot 37.5 percent from the floor, including 41.2 percent on three-pointers.
Three Thunderbirds scored in double figures. Maizen Fausett led the T-Birds with 19 points on 8-11 shooting, including 2-4 from three. He added 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal and a block. Jason Spurgin and Tevian Jones combined to scored 28 points for the Thunderbirds.
Big time shot by @mufausett 🤤
SUU leads by 🔟 with less than three minutes to go#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/wQocMUdcWT
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) January 14, 2023
Cameron Healy led SUU’s second unit with nine points on 3-8 field goals.
AJ Cajuste led the Lumberjacks with 11 points.
With the win, the T-Birds improved their record to 13-6 on the season and 5-1 in WAC action.
RELATED: Fausett, Jones Combine For 43 Points As Southern Utah Takes Down Sam Houston State
Southern Utah’s next game is at home against the New Mexico State Aggies on Thursday, January 19 at 7 p.m. (MDT). The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
