CEDAR CITY, Utah. The Southern Utah men's basketball squad lifted the lid on the 2022-23 home season in sterling fashion with a blistering 117-55 victory against La Verne on Thursday, Nov. 10 within the friendly confines of the America First Event Center. The victory moved SUU to 1-1 on the season with La Verne falling to 1-1.
SUU sported a balanced attack with five Thunderbirds scoring in the double digits. Sophomore guard Drake Allen led all scorers with 17 points, while senior guard Harrison Butler collected 16 of his own. Senior guard Tevian Jones (14), graduate student guard Cameron Healy (12) and sophomore center Jason Spurgin (11) also broke the double-digit barrier.
Butler and Healy each nearly notched a double-double as they corralled eight rebounds during the contest. Healy also boasted a team-high five assists.
Southern Utah crushed La Verne offensively, draining 53.8 percent of its shots en route to a 43-for-80 performance. SUU also put up 26 treys, connecting on 11 of them for a sparkling 42.3-percent three-point rate.
The Thunderbirds outhustled the Leopards on the glass, winning the rebounding battle, 46-34.
Defensively, Southern Utah might as well have put a lid on La Verne's rim, holding the Leopards to 35.2-percent shooting (19-54) as well as forcing a jaw-dropping 31 turnovers. In fact, Southern Utah converted those turnovers into 43 points. Even more impressive, SUU's bench nearly outscored La Verne with 52 of Southern Utah's total points.
First Half
The Thunderbirds wasted little time turning on the afterburners against the Leopards, jumping out to a quick 8-2 lead during a 2:12 stretch that included a 3-for-5 effort from the field. After La Verne cut the advantage to 8-4 at the 16:14 mark, SUU unleashed a sizzling 17-7 run during the next 4:49 of the first frame keyed by Healy's six points off a pair of three-pointers to push SUU to a 25-11 lead.
Leading 27-16 at the 9:41 mark, the 'Birds put the pedal to the floor by unfurling a 10-0 run during a furious 1:33 stretch with Allen notching six points. Southern Utah continued to blister the net the rest of the first half, closing out with a 54-29 halftime lead.
Southern Utah led the way offensively, shooting 47.4-percent with an 18-for-38 effort while draining a quartet of threes from beyond the arc. SUU also dominated the action from the charity stripe, connecting on 14-of-17 from the charity stripe against La Verne's 5-for-10 effort. Defensively, SUU held La Verne to 42.3-percent shooting off 11-for-26 shooting as well as just 2-for-8 from long distance. Southern Utah also collected 24 points off La Verne's 18 turnovers. SUU also picked up 11 steals.
Allen led all scorers with nine points, while Butler showed up all over the first-half box score with a half-high five rebounds and two assists.
Second Half
Southern Utah left no doubt to start the second stanza by going on a blistering 16-2 run with Jones (5) and Allen (4) pacing the way en route to a 70-31 advantage. Senior guard Dee Barnes punctuated that sprint with a rim-rattling dunk.
Allen continued to shine during another 16-8 run to push SUU to an 89-44 lead at the 7:57 mark. During that stretch, Allen flushed back-to-back dunks and then drew a charge from La Verne.
The T-Birds continued to roll with another 17 straight points during the next 3:26 as SUU eclipsed the 100-point mark with 6:08 left in the period before closing out the sprint at 104-44 with a junior guard Zion Young layup with 4:31 left in the game. Spurgin owned the bulk of scoring during this overwhelming offensive display with seven points.
Freshman guard Josh Valentine provided the exclamation point to the game with back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute for his first points at the collegiate level as the America First Event Center student section exploded with the performance.
SUU closed the second stanza, winning the second half 63-26. Southern Utah shot an astounding 59.5-percent off a 25-for-42 effort. The Thunderbirds also lit up the net from beyond the arc with a 7-for-14 performance for 50 percent shooting. SUU keyed its dominant finish by doubling up La Verne on the boards, 26-13, which led to 13 assists.
The 'Birds put up a defensive wall, holding its opponent to just 28.6-percent shooting off an 8-for-28 effort. SUU scored 43 points off 13 turnovers, including seven steals.
Post-Game Press Conference: Head Coach Todd Simon, Drake Allen:
Notable Plays
Next Up
Southern Utah remains at home during part of a three-game homestand. SUU welcomes Saint Katherine to the America First Event Center on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
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