BOULDER, Colo. Senior guard Harrison Butler's double-double wasn't enough as the Southern Utah men's basketball squad sustained an 86-78 loss on the road against Pacific 12 opponent Colorado on Wednesday, Dec. 21. The loss moved SUU to 8-5 this season, while Colorado improved to 8-5.
Career-Scoring Charts
The usual suspects led the way for the Thunderbirds in scoring. Senior guard Harrison Butler, fresh off joining the 1200-point club, moved to eight all-time on the SUU charts with an 18-point 11-rebound effort. The effort moved Butler ahead of former teammate John Knight III (1,223 points, 2019-22)
Senior guard Tevian Jones tallied 14 points to increase his SUU career tally to 1,052 as well as 1,150 in his career including his time at Illinois.
Senior forward Maizen Fausett picked up 13 points against Colorado to increase his career tally to 1,244. Fausett and Butler's next target is Jackson Stevenett, who scored 1,273 points for SUU from 2010-13.
Additionally, graduate guard Cameron Healy notched 12 points against the Buffaloes. Meanwhile, Spurgin matched Butler's 11-rebound performance with 11 caroms of his own.
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)
1,244; Maizen Fausett (ACTIVE)
1,239; Harrison Butler (ACTIVE)
1,223; John Knight III (2019-2022)
1,205; Davis Baker (2007-2010)
1,052; Tevian Jones (ACTIVE)
First Half
The game opened with the squads being evenly matched with the score knotted at 8-8 at the 15:35 mark. Harrison Butler accounted for six points with a pair of triples during this stretch.
SUU followed with a 6-1 run during the following 1:40 of play to lead 16-9 at the 13:22 mark thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Tevian Jones and Cameron Healy.
Colorado responded with an 11-2 run of its own to take a 22-18 lead at the 10:23 mark before Healy drained another trey at 8:56 to cut the lead to 22-21 with 8:56 on the clock.
The Buffaloes pushed their lead back up to nine points, 30-21, with 5:22 to play in the first frame thanks to a 6-0 burst. Colorado continued to press its advantage with an 8-5 run during the following 2:18 to up its lead to 14, 38-26, with 3:04 on the clock.
The Thunderbirds, who started the half hot turned up the heat again to close the half to within four points, 38-34, heading into halftime. Drake Allen accounted for five points with Maizen Fausett ending the scoring for the half with a trifecta.
Second Half
SUU picked up the pace coming out of halftime with a swift 5-0 burst to close to within one point of Colorado, 40-39, with 17:33 on the clock. Fausett buried another three to lead scoring during the run. The T-Birds then took their first lead since the opening of the game, 44-42, with 16:17 on the clock thanks to a Butler trifecta.
Colorado countered with an 8-2 run during the next 2:37 of play to lead 50-46 with 13:40 to go. The 'Birds battled back yet again, closing to within a point, with a 6-3 run to trail 53-52 with 12:33 on the clock. Jason Spurgin and Jones both completed old-fashioned three-point plays during the stretch.
The squads remained even during the next 3:25 of play with Colorado clinging to a one-point lead, 60-59, with 9:08 on the clock. Allen (4) and Fausett (3) paced Thunderbird scoring during this stretch.
The Buffaloes withstood the SUU run and responded with a 13-0 run of their own to take a 73-59 lead with 6:39 on the clock. Butler ended the scoreless streak for SUU with a layup at the 5:51 mark to cut the advantage to 73–61. Parsa Fallah followed with a layup of his own to chop the deficit to 10 points, 73-63, with 4:26 on the clock.
Despite cutting their deficit down to six points and seven points down the stretch, the Thunderbirds wound up sustaining a loss, 86-78.
Notable Plays
Next Up
Southern Utah opens Western Athletic Conference play on the road against New Mexico State on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. MT.
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