CEDAR CITY, Utah. The Southern Utah men's basketball team returns home to the America First Event Center for a tilt against former Big Sky foe Northern Arizona.  Two teams will tipoff at 1 p.m. MT on Saturday, Dec. 17 as the 'Birds have a week to rest up after willing a trio of games in the span of a week. 

GAME INFO

Southern Utah vs. Northern Arizona
Date: Saturday, Dec. 17
Tipoff: 1 p.m. MT
Broadcast: ESPN+

PREVIEW

SOUTHERN UTAH (7-4)

National Rankings!

Southern Utah ranks fourth in the country in points per game with 89.6, while also standing sixth in the nation in rebounds per game with 42.8. 

Points Per Game - Team
1    Arizona, 91.2
2    James Madison, 90.5
3    Missouri, 90.4
4    Southern Utah, 89.6
5    Bryant, 88.0

Rebounds Per Game - Team
1    Alabama, 49.6
2    Mississippi State, 43.4
3    Utah, 43.3
4    St. John's, 43.2
5    Purdue, 42.8
6    Southern Utah, 42.8

T-Bird Tidbits
Southern Utah outscores its opponents by more than 20 points so far this year.  SUU averages 89.6 points per game, while opponents score just 69.1 points for a 20.5-point average margin of victory.

SUU shoots 48.1 percent from the field, while also scoring 31.4 percent from beyond the arc.  The 'Birds have lived at the charity stripe this season as well, scoring 71.5 percent from the nearly 17 free throws per game they shoot.

Southern Utah also averages 42.7 rebounds, 15.5 assists and 10.9 steals a game while forcing 18.4 turnovers a contest. 

Individual Leaders
A pair of Thunderbirds average double-figure scoring with senior guards Tevian Jones (19.2) and Harrison Butler (12.6) each scoring more than 10 points a game.  Sophomore center Jason Spurgin (9.9) and senior forward Maizen Fausett (9.4) also nearly average double digits per game.

Fausett (6.5) and Butler (6.4) each average more than six rebounds per game, while junior guard Deng Dut leads the team with 2.8 assists per contest.  

Career Scoring Charts
Senior forward Maizen Fausett leaped past John Knight III into seventh all-time in Thunderbird scoring history with eight points.  That effort moved his career tally to 1,224, edging Knight's 1,223 points set from 2019-22. 

Meanwhile, senior guards Harrison Butler and Tevian Jones put up matching 15-point efforts to lead the way for SUU.  Butler is now two points shy of joining the 1,200-Point Club currently composed of nine Thunderbirds. Butler also collected a double-double tonight with 10 rebounds to lead the squad.   

Jones became the 11th Thunderbird to score 1,000 points in an SUU uniform with 1,007 while at Southern Utah.  Overall, Jones has a career total of 1,105 points having previously spent some time at the University of Illinois.

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)
1,224; Maizen Fausett (ACTIVE)
1,223; John Knight III (2019-2022)
1,205; Davis Baker (2007-2010)
1,198; Harrison Butler (ACTIVE)
1,007; Tevian Jones (ACTIVE)

LAST TIME OUT

LAS VEGAS, Nev.  The Southern Utah men's basketball team pushed its win streak to three in a dogfight with Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Dec. 10.  The Thunderbirds knocked off the Titans, 67-60, as the opening act of the Jack Jones Hoopfest tripleheader.  Southern Utah improved to 7-4 with the conquest, while Fullerton fell to 4-6. It's a historic victory as SUU had previously never defeated CSF. 

T-Bird Tidbits
The key to a transcendent team is having more than one way to win, and that proved itself in this contest for Southern Utah as the offensive juggernaut of a team that ranked second in the nation with 91.9 points per game had to get it done in other ways.

SUU used an aggressive attack in the paint to not only outscore Fullerton, 32-24, down low, but also doubled the amount of free-throw attempts by scoring 24-35 from the charity stripe compared to Fullerton's 11-17 effort.  

First Half
Southern Utah's stifling defensive effort to start the game ignited a 9-0 run that included no scoring for Titans until the 15:50 mark.  During that time period, senior forward Maizen Fausett led the way with back-to-back layups.  Just more than a minute later, SUU held an 11-5 lead going into the first media timeout at 14:22 with senior guard Harrison Butler scoring a stepback jumper. 

Cal State Fullerton responded, cutting SUU's lead to 14-10, heading into the second media timeout at 11:43 of the first half.  Graduate guard Cameron Healy accounted for SUU scoring with a three-pointer.  

With both teams struggling offensively, the 'Birds managed to remain in the lead, 19-16, at 7:13 for the third media timeout.  SUU's aggressive play led to a trio of free throws as well as a junior guard Deng Dut layup.  

The Thunderbirds managed to help on to a two-point lead, 22-20, heading into a media timeout at 3:59 thanks to even more shots from the charity stripe.  Jones and Butler scored SUU's three points from the line during this stretch.  

The two squads traded the lead down the final 3:59 of the first frame with SUU having just enough in the tank to hold a 28-27 advantage at halftime.  Southern Utah continued to feast on Fullerton fouls, scoring four of its final points from the line.
 
Second Half
Southern Utah opened the second half by extending its advantage to 36-33 heading into a media timeout with 15:56 left to play.  Jones provided the highlight with a trey as the T-Birds worked to hold off the Titans. 

The two teams traded blows like a heavyweight fight during the next stretch of play as the Titans grabbed a 44-41 lead with 11:40 left to play. A layup and a free throw by Jones kept the 'Birds within reach. 

The Thunderbirds countered during the following 3:41 of play, forcing a Fullerton timeout with 8:14 left to play as SUU led 49-46.  The T-Birds turned up the heat with an 8-2 burst thanks largely to five points from Butler during the stretch. 

Southern Utah went into the final media timeout at 3:35 of the second stanza with a 55-53 lead. Spurgin paced scoring for SUU during this portion of the game with a trio of successful free throws.

The T-Birds extended their advantage to 62-57 with a 7-4 run during the next 3:09 of play with Allen flushing a pair of layups.  With 44 seconds left to play, CSF's leading scorer Latrell Wrightsell Jr. fouled out of the contest, the second Titan to leave the game with five fouls in what proved to be a chippy affair. 

Southern Utah held onto the lead to capture a 67-60 victory. 

NORTHERN ARIZONA (4-8)
Northern Arizona currently holds a 4-8 record this season and will be looking to rebound from an 80-75 loss in overtime to Utah Valley on Saturday, Dec. 10. 

Jalen Cole leads the Lumberjacks in scoring with 15.6 points per game.  Xavier Fuller (9.3) and Nik Mains (9.2) follow suit by nearly averaging double figures.  Carson Towt patrols the glass for NAU, pacing the team with 8.7 boards per contest, while also leading the squad with 3.5 assists per game.

Overall, Northern Arizona scores 72.3 points per game while giving up 73.1 points per game. 

HISTORY

Southern Utah boasts an 18-15 record against the Lumberjacks in a series dating back to an 80-66 triumph in Flagstaff on Dec. 3, 1988. SUU is currently on a four-game win streak against NAU which commenced after an 85-80 win in Cedar City on Feb. 24, 2021.  SUU's longest win streak against the Lumberjacks stands at six victories from Feb. 27, 2016 through Jan. 12, 2019. 

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