STEPHENVILLE, Texas– In a back-and-forth battle, the Southern Utah University men's basketball team fell to the Tarleton State Texans in its first WAC test of 2023 Thursday night, 68-65. Senior Forward Maizen Fausett finished with a team-leading 14-points  moving him into sixth place in all-time scoring for SUU. After climbing back from an 11-point second-half deficit, Southern Utah had a chance to tie at the end of regulation but fell short. The Thunderbirds fall to 10-6 (2-1 WAC), while the Texans improved to 8-7 (2-1 WAC).

T-Bird Tidbits

• Both sides had similar offensive production. The Thunderbirds edged out the Texans in field goal percentage 44.2 percent to 43.6. 
• Southern Utah finished with a significant advantage down low, scoring 34 points in the paint compared to Tarleton's 22 points. 
• The Thunderbirds also had an efficient night from the free throw line, outshooting, TSU, 81.3 percent to 75 percent. 

Career Scoring Charts

In a low-scoring matchup, the Thunderbirds had three players finish with double digits. Maizen Fausett led the way with 14 points and six rebounds. This performance moves Fausett to sixth all-time in scoring for the Thunderbirds (1,280). Sophomore guard Drake Allen also had a strong performance finishing with 14 points of his own. 

Jason Spurgin asserted himself down low finishing with 11 points. Harrison Butler posted a gritty performance racking up seven rebounds and seven assists. 

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)
1,280; Maizen Fausett (ACTIVE)
1,273; Jackson Stevenett (2010-2013)
1,265; Harrison Butler (ACTIVE)
1,223; John Knight III (2019-2022)
1,205; Davis Baker (2007-2010)
1,102; Tevian Jones (ACTIVE)

First Half
The game began with the Texans jumping out on a 9-4 run heading into the first media timeout at 15:56 on the clock. Southern Utah followed this start with a Spurgin post-up layup, as well as a corner three-pointer and a pair of free throws from Fausett to cut into the deficit and bring the score to 14-12 at the 12:08 mark. 

Tarleton responded with a 6-1 run to extend their back out to 20-13, before a rim-rocking Tevian Jones dunk and a Drake Allen three helped the T-Birds cut TSU's lead to 20-21 with under 7 minutes left to play.

After SUU had two straight possessions that resulted in four straight made free throws from Fausett, the Thunderbirds claimed their first lead of the night when Jones connected on a pull-up three-pointer, putting them ahead 27-26 with 3:41 remaining in the first half. 

As the game progressed towards the half, both sides continued to battle back and forth, with the lead changing five different times before another Jones three-pointer put Southern Utah up 33-32 with under a minute to play. After Pariah Fallah flushed a layup to bolster the lead, the Texans would connect on two straight jumpers, including a pull-up mid-range shot at the buzzer, to send TSU into halftime with a 36-35 advantage. 

Second Half

Coming out of the half, Tarleton shot out to a 11-0 run to take a 47-35 lead forcing Southern Utah into a timeout at the 16:56 mark. After the timeout, Fausett muscled in a layup to break the scoring lull and sparked a Thunderbird run highlighted by a Harrison Butler layup and a three-pointer from Cameron Healy, trimming the TSU's lead to 49-44. 

After the Texans pushed their lead back to 58-47, Dee Barnes splashed a three-pointer and split his free throws to bring the game back to single digits, 58-51, with 5:59 left. 

As the clock ticked under five minutes to play, Spurgin took control, rattling off eight straight points and carrying the Thunderbirds on an 8-2 run, cutting the TSU's lead back to 60-58. 

Southern Utah reclaimed the lead when Allen forced a tough layup on a fast break and sunk a three-pointer to put the Thunderbirds up 63-62 with 1:33 left in the game.

Tarleton regained a three-point lead with 14 seconds to play before Healy went coast to coast for a layup to pull within one 65-66 with five seconds left. After the Thunderbirds fouled and Tarleton made both free throws, Jones had a chance to tie with a three-point jumper, but the shot rattled in out, securing the 68-65 victory for the Texans. 

Next Up

Southern Utah will continue its road trip in the Lone star state on Saturday, Jan. 7, against the Abilene Christian Wildcats at Moody Collesium. Tip-off is set for 5 P.M. MT. 

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