JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- Southern Utah's Maui Jim Maui Invitational on the Mainland slate came to a close on Sunday afternoon, as they fell to the East Tennessee State Buccaneers 70-58.
"We were excited about the fact that our guys played very, very hard for 40 minutes and battled against a very good team," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "I think the fight was there, we've just got to execute more and get a little healthier. We've got a bunch of guys banged up and played a little shorthanded."
The Thunderbirds will return to Cedar City with a .500 record, sitting at 3-3. They have not played at home since their season opener on November 5.
"It's hard to win on the road in college basketball, and statistically it's tougher than any other sport, so these road environments are a challenge," Simon said. "In this three week span we've played in every time zone, played a Big 10 and Pac-12 team, and this team (ETSU) is as good as any of those teams. They're going to be a major factor, so it was good to see us give everything we had in this stretch and finally get to head home for a game on Friday."
The Buccaneers held the advantage for the entire first quarter, building their lead to as many as 11. ETSU led the T-Birds 34-24 at the break.
As a team the Thunderbirds shot 38 percent in the opening frame, while the Bucs shot 54 percent and hit five triples.
Dwayne Morgan and Harrison Butler led the Thunderbirds at the break, both scoring seven points in the opening 20 minutes.
The Thunderbirds kept the second half close, as they pulled within three with 11:39 to play. At that point, however, the Buccaneers used their three-point shooting to pull back ahead by 10, hitting back-to-back over the T-Bird defense.
In the closing minutes the Buccaneers had an 8-0 to create enough separation and hold off the Thunderbirds down the stretch and ultimately win by 12.
Morgan finished with a season-high 20 points in 28 minutes of action. He was just six points shy of tying his career-high mark.
"He's battling an injury, and he gutted through it," Simon said. "He just kept persevering and I was proud of his effort."
Butler finished the contest with a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Jakolby Long also hit double-digits for SUU with 10 points.
The Thunderbirds were credited with just four assists, compared to ETSU's 13. SUU outscored the Bucs in the paint 32-24.
ETSU shot 19-of-25 from the free throw line, while SUU went just 8-of-16.
The T-Birds will be back on the court November 29 at 12 p.m. MT as they'll face off against the West Coast Baptist Eagles at home.
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