Southern Utah Sneaks Past Cal Baptist Lancers On Road
Feb 1, 2023, 10:04 PM
Southern Utah Thunderbirds guard Harrison Butler (Courtesy of SUU Athletics)
(Courtesy of SUU Athletics)
RIVERSIDE, California – The Southern Utah Thunderbirds travelled to the CBU Events Center on Wednesday to take on the California Baptist Lancers.
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The Thunderbirds last game was an impressive win over the Utah Valley Wolverines, 79-67. The Lancers last game was a tough road loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros, 64-58.
Southern Utah came in at 3rd place in the Western Athletic Conference. California Baptist sat at 7 before the game.
First Half
The Thunderbirds got on the board first, hitting jumpshots on the first two possessions to take a 4-0 lead.
After giving up a three, Southern Utah came down and got the points back the old-fashioned way.
Picture perfect move from Spurgin in the post 📸
AND 1️⃣#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/bwrHMXKhm0
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
The Lancers continued the sharpshooting from outside. They took their first lead of the game after a 7-0 run.
Southern Utah got another and-one to tie the game at 10.
POWER MOVE FROM PARSA 😤😤😤#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/0UkV5pqI3c
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes.
SUU shot well from the field and from three.
.@mufausett gives the T-Birds a 1️⃣7️⃣-1️⃣4️⃣ lead after this 👌#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/IjpHMDbVHd
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
There was a lot of good defense played in the first half. Much of the scoring came off of hustle plays or tough shots.
DEEp Barnes 😏#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/wqmWCcKtoX
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
Drake Allen was the leading scorer for Southern Utah in the first half with 11 points.
.@drakeaallen13 muscles this one in, and ☝️#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/rEZ0Mhfr8y
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
No team held a lead larger than 5-points in the first half. The Thunderbirds led for 13 of the 20 minutes regardless.
.@drakeaallen13 WITH THE POSTER DUNK 🤯🤯🤯#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/mtKcW1qudj
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
The score was 42-38 at the half.
🆙 at the half#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/B42SY8nJ8l
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
Second Half
The Thunderbirds held a two-possession lead for the first few minutes of the second half.
Drake Allen continued to pour it in for SUU.
Have yourself a night @drakeaallen13 🔥🔥🔥
He leads the team with 1️⃣5️⃣ points on 7-9 shooting ‼️#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/Sf0bNuPfLo
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
Tevian Jones got a posterizing dunk off of a backdoor cut.
Tevian got ⬆️⬆️⬆️ and threw it ⬇️⬇️⬇️#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/nQtjUgZnP5
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
With 15 minutes left in the game, the Lancers tied the game at 50-50.
The Thunderbirds continued to shoot well from all over the court.
SHARPSH🎯🎯TER@camb0healy splashes his second triple of the night 💦#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/UGgrn8ZWF0
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
SUU went on a 9-2 run with 5 minutes left in the game. They opened a 7-point lead which was quickly dropped to 3 after some Lancer baskets.
.@TheReal_TJones is in the ZONE rn 🔒#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/nWNtMxxZVW
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
California Baptist took a two-point lead late. The Thunderbirds got an and-one with a minute left to regain the lead.
TEVIAN HITS AN AND 1️⃣ WITH 1:13 REMAINING 👀🤯
SUU 🆙 7️⃣2️⃣-7️⃣1️⃣‼️#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/SvqwkCzIsd
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
The Lancers got to the free throw line with 4 seconds remaining. They missed both shots and the Thunderbirds got the rebound to seal the game.
Southern Utah pulls out the win, 72-71.
Took care of business tonight 😎#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/LOGIiwZbs3
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.
