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Southern Utah University Athletics

lightning logo
SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
lightning logo
Tevian Jones
59
Idaho UI 5-17,2-10 Big Sky
75
Winner Southern Utah SUU 14-6,8-2 Big Sky
Idaho UI
5-17,2-10 Big Sky
59
Final
75
Southern Utah SUU
14-6,8-2 Big Sky
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Idaho UI 28 31 59
Southern Utah SUU 42 33 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

T-Birds Soar to 75-59 Win in Throwback Uniforms

CEDAR CITY, Utah – In its blue and orange throwback uniforms honoring its days as the College of Southern Utah, the Southern Utah University men's basketball team cruised to a 75-59 victory Thursday night at the America First Event Center.

The win pushed the Thunderbirds to 14-6 on the season and 8-2 in Big Sky Conference games. Idaho dropped to 5-17 with the loss with a 2-10 record in league play.

The win was Southern Utah's third straight, and the fifth in the last six games.

Tevian Jones led the way with 22 points to finish as the game's leading scorer. The senior guard also finished with nine rebounds, just one shy of his third-consecutive double-double. Maizen Fausett also finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards on the night. John Knight III dropped in 14 points for the T-Birds, and Dre Marin and Jason Spurgin scored 12 and 10, respectively.

As a team, SUU outshot the Vandals with a 45 percent clip to Idaho's 40. Both teams knocked down six three and were an identical 11-of-14 from the free-throw line, but it was Southern Utah's advantage in rebounding that made a big difference. The T-Birds outrebounded the Vandals 40-29, including doubling them up on the offensive glass with a 14-7 advantage. The Thunderbirds also took better care of the ball all night with a plus six turnover margin.

Spurgin started the scoring on the night for SUU with a layup for the game's first points, and the T-Birds never trailed again. Idaho would respond with a layup on the other end to make it 2-2, but the Vandals never tied the game or took the lead the rest of the way. Spurgin's layup was the start of 11-straight makes from the field for the T-Birds, which resulted in 26 points. SUU would go on to take a 42-28 advantage into halftime.

The Vandals played with intensity to start the second half and trimmed Southern Utah's lead to just seven points, but the Thunderbirds flipped the script and owned the final 10 minutes of the game. The lead grew as high as 21 for SUU thanks to a late 9-2 run to put the game away.

Southern Utah will look to win its fourth-consecutive game Saturday when it hosts Eastern Washington on Saturday, February 5. Tip-off is slated at 7:00 p.m. MT with a broadcast available on ESPN+.

For all the latest on Southern Utah men's basketball, follow @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Southern Utah Basketball Facebook page.

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