CEDAR CITY, Utah – Southern Utah welcomed North Dakota to the Centrum Arena Thursday night in hopes of finding its winning ways again. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as the Thunderbirds (5-15, 2-7) fell 85-89 in overtime. UND (8-13, 4-6) used free throws down the stretch to put SUU away. With the loss the Thunderbirds dropped their fourth straight.
North Dakota jumped out to a quick 81-75 lead in overtime, but SUU responded, cutting the lead to two with under a minute to play. After a stretch of free throws, the deficit was six for the Thunderbirds who was unable to convert down the stretch. Battered by foul trouble, SUU was unable to convert the critical shots needed to come away victorious.
Head Coach Nick Robinson was pleased with his team's effort despite the loss. “Other than turnovers for us, I thought our guys played well, they played hard, it was a great effort in front of a great crowd.” The one thing Robinson would change, first half turnovers.
The Thunderbirds had a rough defensive start to Thursday night's game. Looking to rebound from a tough loss, SUU's hot shooting was about the only thing clicking for the Thunderbirds early on. SUU started 8-10 from the field, but seven early turnovers led to a nine-point deficit. Southern Utah was able to cut into UND's lead on a couple occasions, but was unable to erase the deficit completely.
Mid-way through the first half, the Thunderbirds trailed, 21-28 and after starting 80 percent from the field, SUU was unable to connect on its next seven shots. Freshman guard, James McGee and junior guard A.J. Hess led the Thunderbirds scoring through the first half. Each McGee and Hess shot 3-4 from the field, McGee contributing seven points, while Hess added nine. Outside of the turnovers, the Thunderbirds competed well in the first half.
SUU entered the half trailing UND, 28-41. The Thunderbirds shot 45 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arch. Southern Utah was able to control the ball much better the last part of the first half, committing just two turnovers in the final 12 minutes of the half.
UND forward, Jaron Nash contributed ten first half points and added seven rebounds. SUU played great defense on UND guard Quinton Hooker who shot just 1-6 in the first 20 minutes of the game, but dished out seven assists.
The Thunderbirds started hot after the half, almost immediately cutting the North Dakota lead to single digits. Hess started the second half with a quick basket and two free throws to cut the UND lead three, at 41-38. After the 10-0 SUU run, North Dakota forced two turnovers and extended its lead back out to six. The Thunderbirds were able to grab momentum and the lead with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game, 47-46.
SUU and North Dakota traded leads and at the halfway point of the second half the Thunderbirds trailed, 54-55. Over the following three minutes, Southern Utah was held scoreless and UND stretched its lead to 60-54. Shooting 5-5 from the field, SUU guard, Juwan Major checked in with six-and-a-half minutes to play and made an and-one lay-in to get the game back to one possession.
In the last two minutes of the game, North Dakota had three players with four fouls and one with three, while SUU had two players with four fouls and Hanks who had fouled out. After SUU's Trey Kennedy made back-to-back free throws, SUU held a 69-68 lead with over a minute to play. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, but after an SUU turnover, UND seemed to be in complete control leading by three with eight seconds left. Hess converted a three-point jumper with two-tenths of a second left to send the game to overtime tied 75-75.
Robinson added that the team is moving forward from this point. “We're going to have everyone ready, on the same page (for Saturday). We've got to bounce back and keep moving forward,” Robinson said.
SUU's Hess and Major combined for 31 points on 12-17 shooting. While forward, Tyler Rawson added 11 points and six rebounds. The Thunderbirds played two men down in overtime, as Major and Hanks both fouled out late in the second half and were not available for SUU.
The Thunderbirds could not slow North Dakota's Nash, who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Shanks and Terrel De Rouen combined for 31 points and Shanks added 11 rebounds of his own. Both teams shot well from the field and from three, the difference came at the free throw line where UND converted 26-37, while SUU shot just 17-28.
SUU will host Northern Colorado Saturday night at the Centrum. Tip is set for 7:00 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.
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