Thunderbirds Take Care of Idaho State in 86-74 Decision
CEDAR CITY, Utah – Jason Spurgin, Tevian Jones and John Knight III scored 17 points apiece, and the Southern Utah University men's basketball team fended off a pesky Idaho State tea, 86-74, Saturday afternoon at the America First Event Center.
The victory pushed Southern Utah to 11-5 on the season with a 5-1 mark in Big Sky play. Idaho State fell to 3-14 for the year and 1-7 in conference competition.
"This was a good team win," said SUU head coach Todd Simon. "I thought we played a very mature, smart game. Dre and John did a great job with 13 assists and only three turnovers. We finished it off at the free-throw line. Defensively we did a nice job on their guards. We had some guys step up today, and it was Jason Spurgin's time. We had some guys step up into some matchups we liked, and that was the difference in the game."
Spurgin's 17 points were a career high, and he also pulled down two rebounds to go with a steal. Knight added seven assists, four rebounds, one block and one steal to his 17 points, while Jones grabbed five rebounds and came away with a steal to pad his 17 points.
The Thunderbirds also got a big lift from Maizen Fausett, who recorded a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double. It was the senior forward's fifth of the season.
Idaho State had a big game from the 3-point line with 15 makes from distance, but Southern Utah's defense only allowed eight two-point field goals and 13 free throws. The Thunderbird offense went 30-of-58 from the floor on the afternoon and made 20 of their 27 free-throw attempts. The T-Birds also outrebounded the Bengals 39-31 for the game.
The first half was close the entire time with Southern Utah taking a narrow, 36-34 lead into the locker room at halftime. After the break, SUU used a quick 14-5 run to gain separation and build its lead to double digits. A series of small runs helped the T-Birds to build their lead as high as 17 points, but ISU's 3-point shooting kept the Bengals in the game, until Southern Utah sank its free throws at the end to put an end to the game.
SUU faces a quick turnaround with only one day off before hosting in-state and Big Sky rival Weber State Monday night at the America First Event Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MT with a live broadcast available on ESPN+.
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