CEDAR CITY, Utah – With a thrilling overtime victory against Portland State under its belt, the Southern Utah University men's basketball team will return home to do battle with Northern Arizona Monday night at the America First Event Center.
GAME INFO
Southern Utah vs Northern Arizona
Date: January 31, 2022
Tip-Off: 5:00 p.m. MT
Location: Cedar City, Utah
Venue: America First Event Center
Stream: ESPN+
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets | Southern Utah Game Notes | Northern Arizona Game Notes
SUU NOTES (12-6, 6-2 Big Sky)
-Against Portland State, SUU played its third overtime game of the season. The T-Birds are now 2-1 in such games.
-Tevian Jones set a career high in points in the win against the Vikings with 36 on the night.
-John Knight III enters Monday's game just 11 points shy of 1,000 for his SUU career.
-The Thunderbirds average more points than anyone in the Big Sky Conference with 79.9 per game
ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA (7-12, 3-5 Big Sky)
-NAU enters Monday's contest off a 97-76 loss to Portland State. The Lumberjacks have lost three of their last four.
-Jalen Cone leads Northern Arizona in scoring with 19.4 points per game. He is followed by Nik Mains who averages 12.1.
-The Lumberjacks are led by head coach Shane Burcar, who is in his second season at the helm of the program.
LAST TIME OUT
Led by a career-high 36 points from Tevian Jones, and a clutch 3-pointer from Dre Marin, the Southern Utah University men's basketball team survived overtime to take down Portland State, 85-82, Thursday night at Viking Pavilion.
Jones was clicking for the T-Birds all night in the form of 5-of-8 from the 3-point line and 9-of-11 on free throws. The senior also pulled down 10 rebounds to earn a double-double for the game. Marin also played an efficient game with 19 points, five assists and four rebounds. Maizen Fausett was near a double-double with seven points and nine rebounds.
Southern Utah appeared to be well on its way to a comfortable victory after taking a 38-26 lead into halftime. The Thunderbirds maintained that lead halfway through the second half, even building it to 14, but it was all Portland State from there. The Vikings went on multiple runs to trim the deficit to a single point, and then drilled a three at the 1:13 mark to go ahead by two.
After a missed free throw by the Thunderbirds, PSU hit another three for what looked like a dagger and increased the lead to four points with just 25 second remaining. Jones responded by racing down the floor to keep SUU in it with a three of his own. The T-Birds quickly fouled, and the Vikings converted both their free-throw attempts, which set up a crucial next possession for SUU. On that possession, Marin collected the ball and nailed an off-balance three to send the game to overtime and breathe new life into the team.
After a few traded buckets to start overtime, Marin hit another three with 34 seconds left to put the Thunderbirds ahead for good. The senior guard hit a pair of free throws with five seconds left to make it a three-point lead, and Jones contested PSU's last-second heave that fell no good to secure the victory for SUU.
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