Southern Utah Loses To Tarleton State In Home Finale
Mar 2, 2024, 8:48 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – The Southern Utah men’s basketball team dropped its sixth consecutive game and fell in its home finale against the Tarleton State Texans.
SUU loses in home finale
The Thunderbirds hosted the Texans at the America First Events Center in Cedar City, Utah on Saturday, March 2.
SUU lost to Tarleton State, 88-83.
FINAL.#TBirdNation ⚡️ #RaiseTheHammer pic.twitter.com/Gjl49brGBy
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) March 3, 2024
RELATED STORIES
The Thunderbirds hung with the Texans for the opening 25 minutes of action. However, the T-Birds were unable to take control of the contest in the second half.
Six minutes into the night, Southern Utah took the lead and built a seven-point advantage on the scoreboard.
By the break, the Texans had battled back and taken a two-point lead, 39-37.
Following halftime, Tarleton State controlled much of the rest of the game.
With 16:34 left to play in the second half, Southern Utah took its last lead. After a bucket by the Texans with 15:53 to go, the Thunderbirds trailed for the remainder of the evening.
Prophet with the 🪣 ➕ 1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/D7zPNroUta
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) March 3, 2024
SUU trimmed Tarleton State’s lead to a single possession in the final minute but couldn’t overtake the Texans.
Southern Utah shot 49.1 percent overall and 42.9 percent on three-pointers. Tarleton State finished the night shooting 51.6 percent from the field, including 35.7 percent from three.
Zion Young had a career-high 29 points for SUU.
New Career High for Zion 🔥
He leads us with 2️⃣9️⃣ 👏 pic.twitter.com/uZX7xzU7gS
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) March 3, 2024
Jakorie Smith led Tarleton State with 22 points.
Up Next for Southern Utah men’s basketball
With the loss, the Thunderbirds dropped to a 9-20 record this season, including 4-14 in Western Athletic Conference games.
RELATED: Southern Utah Can’t Make Up Ground, Falls To Abilene Christian Wildcats
Southern Utah’s next game is on the road against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks on Thursday, March 7 at 5:30 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. Listen to Ireland on Yards After College: An NFL Podcast. Follow him on X (@kyleireland), Threads (@kyleirelandksl), and Instagram (@kyleirelandksl).
