CEDAR CITY, Utah, Jan. 13 – Southern Utah (1-12, 0-4 BSC) turned in its lowest scoring total of the season during a 70-36 loss to visiting Northern Arizona (6-9, 3-1) Monday night. Eight different Thunderbirds scored in the contest, but the offense hit only 24 percent of its shots while the Lumberjacks finished shooting over 58 percent from the field.
“I think right we are executing well in the half court when we take care of it. Our spacing is good, we are putting defenses in positions where they're uncomfortable, but we're struggling to make open shots and finish versus contact,” stated SUU head coach Nick Robinson. “That is something that guys internally have to flip the switch and be a little more confident in those situations, because they are coming. Every single game they are having opportunities.”
Northern Arizona hit its first six shots to open up a quick 12-0 lead before SUU worked the ball inside to Cal Hanks for a two-handed slam. The Lumberjacks went on to go 9-10 from the field to start the game, building a 19-2 advantage.
NAU stretched the margin to 24-2 before sophomore Casey Oliverson grabbed an offensive rebound and earned a trip to the line to add two more points for the T-Birds. John Marshall then went coast-to-coast and was fouled while dropping in a driving layup to score three points and make the count 26-7.
Senior Jaren Jeffery gave SUU a spark off the bench, grabbing a steal on one end and then hitting a jumper on the other. He then connected with Oliverson on a cross-court alley-oop to beat the buzzer and bring the score to 35-11 at the break.
The Lumberjacks kept it going in the second half, putting up the first six points to extend the difference to 41-11. A.J. Hess would pick up his first points of the night with a four-point play after being fouled while sinking a shot from the outside. Senior Jayson Cheesman then sank a jumper to cut the deficit to 47-19.
Northern Arizona pushed the margin back to 33 before Jeffery and Race Parsons connected on back-to-back threes to bring the count to 54-28. The Lumberjacks retook control from there however and extended their lead to as much as 35 before taking the game by a final score of 70-36.
NAU matched its best shooting performance of the season and outrebounded the Thunderbirds 34-28. The Lumberjacks scored 40 points in the paint and 19 points off of turnovers. Southern Utah recorded 12 field goals on 10 assists and finished with 21 bench points. Jeffery led SUU with eight points while Max Jacobsen was a perfect 7-7 from the field to pace Northern Arizona with 15 points.
“From last game to this game, we took care of the basketball versus pressure and did a much better job of defensive rebounding,” commented Robinson. “Tonight we had issues taking care of the basketball in the half court, which provided points off of turnovers. Our execution in the first half was a little subpar, and once again shots aren't going down for us.”
The Thunderbirds return to the road this week for visits to Idaho State and Weber State. SUU will tip things off against the Bengals on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. before matching up with the Wildcats on Saturday in another seven o'clock showdown. Coverage of Southern Utah basketball is available online at www.suutbirds.com.
