CEDAR CITY, Utah – In a game that had many ups and downs, Southern Utah was not able to pull out a victory Thursday night against Eastern Washington at the Centrum Arena. The Thunderbirds (7-17, 4-8) played very strong defensively and shot the ball well, but a few mistakes late allowed Eastern Washington (20-6, 10-2) to pull out the win, 78-75.
With 2:42 remaining in the game Eastern Washington held a 66-64 lead over the Thunderbirds. Junior guard, A.J. Hess fouled out with just under a minute and a half left in the game with SUU trailing by two. EWU forward, Venky Jois, converted free throws down the stretch, which sustained the Eagles lead. Southern Utah fought until the final buzzer sounded. Unfortunately it was not enough to grab the home win.
Head Coach Nick Robinson was pleased with his team's effort Thursday night despite the loss. “I thought we played extremely well,” Robinson said. “We worked hard throughout the night, gave maximum effort, but unfortunately we didn't make plays when we needed to.”
The Thunderbirds seemed prepared for a fight from the beginning Thursday night, as SUU's defense frustrated an Eastern Washington offense that has been so good this season. The Thunderbirds offense was hot early; shooting 5-7 and grabbing a 13-8 lead early. Freshman, Tyler Rawson and junior, Hess combined for 13 points in the first ten minutes of the game, leading the Thunderbirds to a 23-20 lead at the midway point of the first half.
Southern Utah moved the ball well during the first half as the Thunderbirds accumulated ten assists in the first 13 minutes. Eastern Washington started getting shots to fall, especially from beyond the arch. After starting 0-3, the Eagles shot 4-7 from three-point, but the SUU offense rose to the challenge as the Thunderbirds led 29-26 with five minutes remaining in the half. SUU and EWU traded baskets during the final minutes and the Thunderbirds held a 38-34 lead at halftime.
The Thunderbirds were led by Rawson in the first half who had eight points, but both Hess and guard, Trey Kennedy contributed seven. SUU outrebounded the Eagles 21-14 in the first half and racked up 14 assists. The Thunderbirds forced four turnovers and scored ten points off those turnovers, SUU dominated points in the paint, 18-8.
Eastern Washington's Tyler Harvey leads the nation in scoring with 23.4 points per game, but Southern Utah guards, Juwan Major and Travon Langston held Harvey to just 2-8 shooting and four points in the first 20 minutes. A majority of the Eagles' points came from Felix Von Hofe and Jois who combined to score 17 first half points for EWU. The shooting cooled off for the Eagles late in the half, where they converted just one of six field goal attempts.
Southern Utah started the second half cold, as the Thunderbirds shot just 1-6 from the field in the first three minutes. The Eagles came out firing, as Jois shot 3-3 and pushed the Eagles to a 48-42 lead. Major and Hess kept the Thunderbirds within striking distance and a three-point shot by freshman, James McGee cut the Eagles lead to two; a lead they held midway through the second half.
Hess pulled-up and hit a three-point shot to give the Thunderbirds a 59-58 lead and Langston followed with a layup to push the lead to three with eight minutes remaining. SUU's defense began to fluster the Eagles again, as EWU scored just one point over a four-minute stretch. After back-to-back free throws by Harvey, the game was tied 61-61 with five minutes to play in the game.
SUU guard, Kennedy said although the loss stings, the team is going to have a short memory. “Every loss stings,” Kennedy said. “But we're just looking forward to Idaho on Saturday.”
The Thunderbirds finished the game with 16 assists and 41 rebounds, both of which were more than Eastern Washington who finished with ten and 30 respectively. SUU had five players in double figures, but Kennedy finished with a team high 14 points while adding six assists and eight rebounds. Hess and McGee both finished with 13 and combined for seven rebounds and four assists. Major and Langston combined for 19 points and six rebounds, but played suffocating defense on Harvey all night.
Jois who finished 8-12 from the field with 22 points and four rebounds propelled the Eagles to offense and was the spark EWU needed. Harvey was held to just 3-16 shooting but gathered four points at the free throw line, bringing his total to eleven points on the night, with eight rebounds and four assists. Eastern Washington guard Brandon Drew and Von Hofe finished with a combined 21 points and six assists.
Southern Utah will play back at the Centrum Arena Saturday night against Idaho. Tip is set for 7:05 p.m. MST with live stats online at suutbirds.com. Live audio can be heard online as well as the radio on KSUB 590 AM. Live video can be seen for every home game at watchbigsky.com or on the Watch Big Sky app.
POST SEASON PUSH:
Southern Utah entered the night trailing Weber State by half a game in the Big Sky Standings. However, the Wildcats won Thursday night and stretched their lead to 1.5 games in the standings. SUU is fighting for the eighth spot in the Big Sky Tournament.
