CEDAR CITY, Utah – After four postponed games and 16 days off, the Southern Utah University men's basketball team is set to resume play Monday night when it takes on Portland State in the America First Event Center.
GAME INFO
Southern Utah vs Portland State
Date: January 17, 2021
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m. MT
Location: Cedar City, Utah
Venue: America First Event Center
TV: ESPN+
Live Stream | Live Stats | Tickets | Southern Utah Notes | Portland State Notes
NOTES
-A win Monday night would give Southern Utah 10 victories on the season. It would be SUU's fifth-consecutive season with double-digit wins.
-Southern Utah and Portland State were originally slated to play on January 6. The game was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
-SUU head coach Todd Simon is rapidly approaching 100 career wins with 91 heading into Monday's contest.
-The Thunderbirds are 5-4 against the Vikings under Simon's leadership. SUU won both meetings between the two schools a season ago.
ABOUT PORTLAND STATE (4-8, 2-2 Big Sky)
-The Vikings enter Monday's contest off a win over Sacramento State, which snapped a five-game losing streak.
-James Mean-Marie leads Portland State in scoring at 12.9 points per game. Marlon Ruffin is right behind at 12.2 points per contest.
-Jase Coburn is in his first season as head coach of the Vikings. He has been with the program in various roles since 2013.
LAST TIME OUT
Despite five players scoring in double figures, the Southern Utah University men's basketball team could not overcome Northern Colorado's hot shooting as the Bears defeated the Thunderbirds by a score of 91-81 Saturday night at the America First Event Center.
With the loss, Southern Utah dropped to 9-5 overall for the year and 3-1 in Big Sky competition. The Thunderbirds also saw their 20-game home court winning streak snapped. Northern Colorado improved to 8-7 overall and remained perfect in league play.
Maizen Fausett led a balanced scoring effort for the T-Birds with a team-high 21 points for the night. John Knight III and Aanen Moody eached contributed 14 while Tevian Jones and Harrison Butler added 13 points apiece. Jones was SUU's top rebounder on the night with eight and Fausett pulled down seven. Knight ran the offense well for Southern Utah and dished out nine assists, leaving him one shy of a double-double.
As a team, the Thunderbirds struggled to keep Northern Colorado away from the three-point line as the Bears connected from deep 17 times. Southern Utah kept up the pace in shooting percentage, hitting 44.4 percent of its shots to a 45.6 percent clip for UNC, but struggled from the free-throw line, making only 14 of 25 attempts. The Thunderbirds also dug themselves into an early hole as Northern Colorado took an early 13-3 lead and never turned back.
Southern Utah made its runs throughout the game, but could not quite trim the deficit enough to get back in. UNC led by as many as 18 points in the second half and appeared to be running away, but a 9-0 run from SUU gave the T-Birds life. Unfortunately, as they did all night, the Bears connected on a three to restore their double-digit lead. The Thunderbirds made one last run and trimmed UNC's lead to five, but more 3-pointers from the Bears gave them enough breathing room to ice the game and secure the win.
FOLLOW US
For all the latest on Southern Utah men's basketball, follow @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Southern Utah Basketball Facebook page.
