LAIE, Hawaii. The Southern Utah men's basketball program outlasted former Big Sky foe Sacramento State, 91-87, in double overtime as a bevy of free throws by senior guard Harrison Butler iced the game down the stretch on Saturday, Nov. 26 in Laie, Hawaii. SUU improved to 4-3 with the triumph, while Sacramento State fell to 3-4 in a contest that featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes.
T-Birds Tidbits
Southern Utah dominated the paint to the tune of a 56-34 advantage against the Hornets. SUU also held off a scrappy Sacramento State squad on the glass, winning the rebounding war, 40-37.
SUU held a slight advantage in shooting, bettering the Hornets 48 percent to 45 percent from the field. The 'Birds also edged Sacramento State from the line, 77 percent to 73 percent.
Top Thunderbirds
Senior guard Tevian Jones led all scorers with 24 points, moving his career total to 1,041 along with his tally at SUU to 944.
Junior center Jason Spurgin nearly matched his career high of 22 points with a season-high 20 points as he owned the paint for Southern Utah.
Sophomore guard Drake Allen (14) and Butler (13) also scored in double digits with Butler collecting a double-double with 10 rebounds.
Recent Overtime History
That's the third consecutive overtime win for the Thunderbird program. Previously, SUU downed Yale, 88-85, in overtime on Nov. 23, 2021 while also pouncing on Portland State, 85-82, in overtime on Jan. 27, 2022.
History Against Sacramento State
With the win, SUU now owns a 23-14 advantage in the lifetime series against the Hornets, including a five-game winning stint that began with an 88-69 victory on Feb. 18, 2021. It's also the most points Southern Utah has scored against Sacramento State wince a 93-64 drubbing in Cedar City on Feb. 18, 1995.
Climbing the Scoring Charts
Senior forward Maizen Fausett's nine points moved him on the cusp of joining the 1200-point club at SUU with 1,199 career points as a Thunderbird. Butler, meanwhile, increased his career tally to 1,132.
Points
1,710; Davor Marcelic (1989-1992)
1,568; Jeff Monaco (1997-2001)
1,434; Dre Marin (2017-2022)
1,300; James McGee (2014-2018)
1,297; Richard Barton (1989-1993)
1,273; Jackson Stevenett (2010-2013)
1,223; John Knight III (2019-2022)
1,205; Davis Baker (2007-2010)
1,199; Maizen Fausett (ACTIVE)
1,132; Harrison Butler (ACTIVE)
First Half
Heading into the first media timeout with 16:00 left, SUU trailed Sacramento State, 10-4, largely due to the Hornets' ability beyond the arc. Sacramento State connected on a pair of threes to open the game.
Southern Utah cut the gap to two points, 12-10, at 14:54 with a 6-2 burst during the next 1:41 of play. Fausett collected four of those points with a jumper and a pair of free throws. Sacramento State, however, countered with a 7-2 run of its own heading into the next media timeout. The Hornets stretched their advantage to 19-12 with 10:47 in the half.
Sacramento State pushed its lead to 24-16 with 7:14 left in the half. Spurgin, however, connected on back-to-back layups as SUU looked for a way to get back on track. Spurgin's effort triggered a 7-2 sprint by the Thunderbirds during the next 4:09 of play with Jones splashing a three-pointer as well as a jumper. Butler also scored on a layup as SUU cut the lead to 26-23 heading into the final media timeout of the half at the 3:30 mark.
After a pair of free throws by Spurgin chopped Sacramento State's lead to 26-25, graduate guard Cameron Healy drilled a trifecta to put Southern Utah ahead, 28-26, with 2:37 to play. That gave the 'Birds their first lead since opening the game with a Spurgin layup just 15 seconds into the game. Allen then forced a Hornet timeout with 1:45 left in the half with a layup to push SUU's lead to 30-26. Southern Utah then closed out the half with a 34-29 lead.
Spurgin led the way for the 'Birds in the first half with 10 points, while a team-based focus on crashing the glass led SUU to outrebounding Sacramento State, 17-16. A total of seven Thunderbirds collected caroms with senior guard Dee Barnes, Butler and Allen leading the way with three each. Spurgin's effort definitely showed in the team box score with SUU doubling up Sacramento State in the paint, 24-12.
Second Half
Southern Utah entered the first media timeout of the second stanza at 15:44 with a 38-35 lead thanks to layups from Allen and Jones. The two teams then traded blows in the next 4:31 of play with SUU holding on to a 44-43 lead with 11:34 left in the game. Spurgin continued to shoulder the load with a pair of layups, while Fausett also turned in a layup of his own.
Sacramento State grabbed a 49-46 lead with a pair of three-pointers to lead with 10:36 left in the contest. The Hornets stretched their lead to 52-48 with 8:32 on the clock. Junior guard Amound Anderson accounted for SUU's points with a pair of free throws.
The Thunderbirds tied the game, 54-54, with a quick 6-2 run in the next 3:54 of action thanks to six more points in the paint. Allen collected a layup while Spurgin flushed an emphatic dunk and a layup of his own at the 4:38 mark.
Sacramento State's Zach Chappell put the Hornets on his back the next 1:43, single-handedly pushing them to a 61-54 with a pair of layups and a three-pointer with 2:55 left in the game.
The Thunderbirds responded with a 6-0 run of their own in the next 1:29 of action to close the gap to 61-60. Jones connected on a pair of free throws, while Allen accounted for four points with a layup and a jumper.
With Sacramento State picking up a 63-60 lead with just 43 seconds left in the game, Southern Utah won the free-throw battle down the stretch as Allen sunk four from the charity stripe to send the contest into overtime.
Overtime
Allen, who keyed the SUU comeback with his success at the free-throw line, fouled out a minute into overtime. That allowed Anderson to provide a spark off the bench as he scored a layup to tie the game at 66-66 with 3:44 in overtime after a pair of Hornet free throws. Anderson then collected an important rebound that led to Jones putting SUU up, 68-66, with a layup.
With Sacramento State responding to tie the matchup, 68-68, with 2:41 in the game, Jones put the Thunderbirds up 72-68 with 1:39 left in overtime thanks to a trifecta and a free throw.
Following a Hornet three-pointer with 1:26 left to cut the lead to 72-71, Fausett scored a layup at 1:07 to extend SUU's lead to 74-71. Spurgin, who had a near career-high night with 20 points, fouled out of the game. Sacramento State made the ensuing free throws to pull within 74-73 with 52 seconds in overtime. With 12 seconds left, the Hornets cashed in once at the line to knot the contest at 74-74 and send the game into a second overtime.
Sacramento State kick-started the second overtime with a pair of free throws to take a 76-74 lead with 4:48 left. Fausett hit the front end of two free throws after being fouled at 4:38 to shave the deficit to 76-75.
With 4:00 to play in the second overtime, Anderson drilled a pair of free throws to put SUU up 77-76. Sacramento State countered at the 3:44 mark with a layup to retake the lead, 78-77. Freshman center Parsa Fallah, who did not see time until extra sessions, pilfered a key steal that led to a Jones layup at 3:13 to put SUU ahead 79-78.
Sacramento State fired back at 2:40 with a layup of its own to take an 80-79 lead before Jones buried a three-pointer with 2:32 left to move Southern Utah ahead, 82-80. Chappel made both of his free throws for the Hornets at the 2:00 mark to tie the game, 82-82.
Butler followed up a Jones missed layup with a successful layup of his own with 1:47 left to play to grab the lead for SUU, 84-82. Butler put Southern Utah up, 86-82, with a pair of free throws at the 1:23 mark. With 51 seconds left in the second overtime, Butler nailed another pair of free throws to stretch SUU's lead to 88-82. In total, Butler accounted for six consecutive Southern Utah points.
Sacramento State followed Butler's run with a pair of free throws of its own to trim the advantage to 88-84 with 30 seconds left in the contest. After forcing a missed three-pointer by the Hornets, SUU extended its lead to 90-84 with 21 seconds left thanks to back-to-back free throws by Jones.
The Hornets would not go quietly into the night as Austin Patterson knocked down a triple with 10 seconds left to chisel into the SUU lead, 90-87. Butler, however, collected his seventh point of the second overtime with a free throw to put SUU up 91-87 with four seconds left. Patterson could not replicate the same shot for Sacramento State as his three-pointer missed at the end of the contest with Southern Utah capturing a 91-87 victory.
Next Up
Southern Utah returns home to face Montana State on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. PT at the America First Event Center.
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