CHENEY, Wash. -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team fell in overtime on Saturday afternoon to the Eagles of Eastern Washington in heartbreaking fashion, 81-78.
With the loss the Thunderbirds sit with a 11-7 overall record, and a 4-3 mark in Big Sky Conference play.
Southern Utah didn't get off to the fastest start, but eventually went on a 7-0 run to take a 16-13 lead with roughly 8:30 to play in the first half.
Both squads went back-and-forth scoring for the rest of the frame, with the T-Birds holding a 40-38 lead at the break.
The Thunderbirds shot 54 percent in the opening half, hitting 15-of-28 shots from the field.
SUU continued to play well as the second half opened up, and built an 11 point lead over the Eagles with under 10 minutes to play on the clock.
As the minutes ticked away, however, Eastern Washington clawed back into the contest. EWU tied up the game with 24 seconds on the clock when Mason Peatling hit a triple, knotting the score up at 71-71. Despite having the final possession, the T-Birds weren't able to get a shot up and the game moved into an overtime period.
In overtime, SUU hit only 2-of-11 shots from the field and came up three points short against the Eagles. EWU went just 6-of-12 from the free throw line, giving SUU opportunities, but the shots didn't drop for the Thunderbirds in the end.
"We've got to be able to defend without fouling, and we've got to make those shots," SUU head coach Todd Simon said following the contest. "We really should have had it in regulation, but in that final minute and a half we couldn't put them away, and we've got to learn from it."
Dwayne Morgan finished as SUU's leading scorer, finishing with 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting. He was also tied for the team lead in rebounding with Jakolby Long, as both players pulled in eight boards.
John Knight II finished with 14 points, while Andre Adams had 11 to go along with Cameron Oluyitan's 10.
Both Adams and Maizen Fausett fouled out of the contest for the Thunderbirds, while Kim Aiken Jr did the same for EWU.
Mason Peatling finished as the leading scorer for the EAgles, dropping 30 on 11-of-16 shooting.
Southern Utah's bench outscored EWU's 40-15.
Eastern finished with 10 baskets from behind the three-point line on Saturday, while the Thunderbirds had five.
Southern Utah will be back on the hardwood this Monday when they visit the Idaho Vandals in Moscow. Tip time is set for 7:30 p.m. MT.
"Hopefully we learned some lessons today, and we can apply them to the next game," Simon said.
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