LAIE, Hawaii. Senior guard Tevian Jones joined the 1000-point club tonight as the Southern Utah men's basketball team took a 78-65 loss to Texas State on Friday, Nov. 25 in Laie, Hawaii.  SUU moved to 3-3 on the season, while TSU improved to 4-2. 

1000-Point Club
Jones joined the 1,000-point club this evening.  Heading into tonight, Jones held a career tally of 991 points (894 at Southern Utah and 97 at Illinois).  Jones closed out the contest with a game-high 26 points to improve to 1,017 career points.  He also has 920 points as a Thunderbird as he looks to join teammates senior forward Maizen Fausett and graduate student guard Harrison Butler on the T-Birds total career points charts.  Fausett's season-high 14 points tonight moved him to 1,190 career points, while Butler currently owns 1,119 points as a Thunderbird. 

First Half
The first 3:05 of play featured both teams battling their way to a 6-6 tie at the 16:55 mark.  Butler, Fausett and Jones each connected for two points during this stint before SUU turned in a quick 5-0 run to grab an 11-6 lead courtesy of a junior center Jason Spurgin layup and Fausett triple with 15:27 in the half.  Texas State counted with a quick jumper to cut the lead to 11-8 at 14:48 heading into the first media timeout.

During the following 1:40 of play, Southern Utah stretched its lead to 16-10 at 13:27 with a 5-2 spurt thanks to Fausett, who splashed another three-pointer as well as a layup. TSU chipped the SUU advantage to 16-12 heading into another media timeout at 11:48. 

The squads traded blows during the next 2:51 with each sinking a bucket to leave the 'Birds up 18-14 with 9:42 in the half. Southern Utah took another six-point lead, 20-14, at the 9:04 mark thanks to a Butler layup before Texas State cut the lead to 20-19 with 8:09 to play thanks to a quick 5-0 run of their own. 

The next 2:37 featured Texas State taking a 23-22 lead with 5:32 left in the half with Jones accounting for SUU's two points during this stretch. TSU extended its advantage to 27-24 with 3:41 left, while Fausett continued his strong play with a layup for SUU's points during this 2:08 of play. 

TSU turned up the heat during the following 3:14 with a 7-0 spring of its own to take its biggest lead of the game, 34-24, with 27 seconds left in the half. Jones helped SUU chip away at the 10-point gap with a pair of free throws to send both teams into halftime with TSU up 34-26.

Fausett led all scorers in the first half with 12 points, just two shy of his season-high 14 against reigning national champion Kansas last week.  While both teams shot less than 50 percent from the field, Southern Utah managed to outrebound Texas State, 17-15.  Additionally, SUU went 4-6 from the charity stripe. 

Second Half
Texas State opened up the second half with a 9-2 run to jump out to a 43-28 lead with 16:53 left to play. The teams traded three-pointers during the following 1:27 of play, including a Jones trifecta for SUU to send TSU into the media timeout with a 46-31 advantage at 15:11 in the game. The squads each collected three points during the next 3:42 of play to put TSU up 49-34 at 11:45 heading into a media timeout.

The Thunderbirds began chopping away at TSU's margin during the next 4:17 of play with a 6-2 burst to close to within 11 points, 51-40.  Spurgin, graduate student guard Cameron Healy and sophomore guard Drake Allen each accounted for a pair of points with Allen providing an exclamation point with a dunk at 8:32. The Bobcats countered during the next 1:23 with a quick 5-0 run of their own to take a 56-40 lead heading into a media timeout at 7:09. 

Southern Utah's aggressive play forced the Bobcats into foul trouble as the T-Birds drilled six free throws during the next 1:50 of play as part of a sizzling 8-0 run to close to within 56-48 with 5:38 left in the contest. The run included a trio of free throws from Jones.  Jones then drained a shot from beyond the arc at 5:18 to pull SUU to within seven points, 58-51. 

Texas State responded during the following 1:55 of play with a 4-2 run to push its lead back to 62-53 heading into the final media timeout at the 3:23 mark. The Bobcats held off a hard-charging Thunderbird squad down the stretch to claim a 78-65 win.

Next Up

Southern Utah faces former Big Sky foe Sacramento State tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. MT to close out the North Shore Classic in Laie, Hawaii.  Sacramento State fell to the hosts, Hawaii, 74-61 earlier this evening. 

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