Southern Utah Basketball Outmatched By Seattle U At Home

CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Southern Utah Thunderbirds started strong but were ultimately outmatched by the Seattle U Redhawks at home on Thursday.

Surprisingly, SUU had less turnovers and more offensive rebounds than the Redhawks. Despite the extra possessions, Southern Utah lost by 10.

Southern Utah will host the Utah Valley Wolverines on Saturday, February 17.

FINAL.#TBirdNation ⚡️ #RaiseTheHammer pic.twitter.com/8Z0TVTkwBI

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 16, 2024

First Half

Braden Housley got the T-Birds started with a three from the right wing.

Sound defense led to an early lead for Southern Utah.

Braden gets us started early 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ufYO2yUZIO

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 16, 2024

That didnt last too long though.

After five minutes, Seattle U guard Cameron Tyson got fouled on a three and gave the Redhawks their first lead, 10-8.

Seattle U opened a 15-6 run to take a double-digit lead.

The Redhawks held SUU scoreless for over five minutes as they continued to build their lead.

Admit it, this pump fake by Dom fooled you too 😏 pic.twitter.com/xDXeUJoImf

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 16, 2024

Southern Utah scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the half and then scored 15 points over the last 15 minutes.

SUU shot an abysmal 28.6% from the field in the first half. Jamari Sibley was the Thunderbird’s leading scorer with 7.

Seattle U took advantage of the offensive struggles and led by 14 at the break, 39-25.

Halftime in the AFEC pic.twitter.com/aExlb1HfOT

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 16, 2024

Second Half

Southern Utah forced an early timeout by closing the lead to nine with a 5-0 run.

The Thunderbirds closed the lead all the way down to two before the Redhawks took off again.

Seattle U went on a 19-6 run over a six-minute stretch.

Dom ➡️ Zion ➡️ 🔨 pic.twitter.com/SSA8SgA9SA

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 16, 2024

SUU continued to fight towards a comeback but the lead wasn’t really budging.

With seven minutes left in the game, Southern Utah trailed by 15.

Every time the Thunderbirds made up some ground, the Redhawks came right back to kill any momentum they could build.

Jamari got 🆙 and threw it ⬇️ 😤 pic.twitter.com/YN7d5ZIy2s

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 16, 2024

The Redhawks held on despite Southern Utah’s late efforts and secured the win.

The Thunderbirds fall to 9-16 on the season with the home loss to Seattle U.

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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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