Southern Utah Falls At NAU On Buzzer-Beater By Lumberjacks
Dec 16, 2023, 4:16 PM | Updated: 4:16 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The Southern Utah men’s basketball team suffered a loss on the road thanks to a buzzer-beating field goal by the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
SUU drops game at Northern Arizona
The Lumberjacks hosted the Thunderbirds at J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona on Saturday, December 16.
SUU fell to NAU, 76-74.
Final pic.twitter.com/dUCY0FsqKG
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) December 16, 2023
With five seconds remaining in the second half, Southern Utah’s Braden Housley hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 74 apiece.
HOUSE TIES IT UP WITH 5.9 SECONDS LEFT pic.twitter.com/86uFz4CARK
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) December 16, 2023
As the final seconds ticked away, NAU’s Oakland Fort attempted a layup that failed to find its way through the cylinder. Jayden Jackson collected an offensive rebound and buried a putback bucket as the buzzer sounded to lift the Lumberjacks to a two-point victory over the Thunderbirds.
GAME WINNER FROM JAYDEN JACKSON!!#RaiseTheFlag | #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/7kitHyL5r6
— NAU Men's Basketball (@NAUBasketball) December 16, 2023
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Southern Utah and Northern Arizona played a back-and-forth game for much of the contest. During the opening 20 minutes of action, neither team owned a lead of more than two possessions. At the break, the T-Birds trailed the Lumberjacks, 40-39.
Following the break, the home team built its lead to nine points midway through the second half. Southern Utah trimmed NAU’s lead during the closing minutes and eventually tied the game on Housley’s triple.
Southern Utah finished the afternoon shooting 42.0 percent overall and 26.9 percent on three-pointers. NAU shot 53.3 percent from the field, including 42.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Five Thunderbirds hit double figures in scoring. Dominique Ford led SUU with 19 points on 6-15 field goals. Trent McLaughlin had 19 points to lead the Lumberjacks.
Dom hits back to back threes to start the second half 👌🏽👌🏽 pic.twitter.com/nZ9de1r4jE
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) December 16, 2023
Up Next for Southern Utah men’s basketball
With the loss, the T-Birds moved to a record of 3-7 this season.
RELATED: WAC Releases 2023-24 League Schedule For UVU, SUU, Utah Tech MBB
Southern Utah’s next game is on the road against the Montana State Bobcats on Tuesday, December 19 at 7 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Kyle Ireland is a Sports Producer and Locals in the NFL Insider for sports.ksl.com. He’s also co-host of the Yards After College Podcast. Follow him on Threads (@kyleirelandksl), Instagram (@kyleirelandksl). and X (@kyleireland).
