Box Score OREM, Utah. The Southern Utah men's basketball squad fell to Utah Valley, 90-83, on Saturday, Feb. 11 as a frenzied second-half surge came up short for the Thunderbirds.
Southern Utah's record moved to 17-9 overall and 9-4 in the Western Athletic Conference, while Utah Valley improved to 20-6 and 11-2 in WAC play.
T-Bird Tidbits
- Sophomore guard Drake Allen and sophomore center Jason Spurgin had strong nights with 17 points each as they led four Thunderbirds in double-digit scoring.
- Graduate guard Cameron Healy also scored in double figures with 12 points.
- Senior forward Maizen Fausett led the T-Birds with 11 rebounds.
- The in-state rivalry was on full display with five players combined fouling out of the contest as a total of 53 fouls were called in the game.
Career-Scoring Charts
Senior guard Tevian Jones increased his career Thunderbird scoring tally to 1,266 with 15 points. Jones is now just seven points behind Jackson Stevenett's eighth-ranked 1,273 points from 2010-13. Overall, Jones ran his career total to 1,364 including some time at Illinois.
Senior forward Maizen Fausett (7) and senior guard Harrison Butler (2) moved a bit closer to Dre Marin's third-ranked career tally of 1,434 scored from 2017-22.
Points
1,710; Davor Marcelic (1989-1992)
1,568; Jeff Monaco (1997-2001)
1,434; Dre Marin (2017-2022)
1,426; Maizen Fausett (ACTIVE)
1,350; Harrison Butler (ACTIVE)
1,300; James McGee (2014-2018)
1,297; Richard Barton (1989-1993)
1,273; Jackson Stevenett (2010-2013)
1,266; Tevian Jones (ACTIVE) (1,364 overall)
1,223; John Knight III (2019-2022)
1,205; Davis Baker (2007-2010)
First Half
Utah Valley opened the contest with a quick 4-0 run before Maizen Fausett cracked into the scoring column on the box score with a layup to move SUU to within 4-2 with 17:30 on the clock. Drake Allen followed with a circus layup to knot the game up at 4-4 with 16:30 to go.
Jason Spurgin pushed the SUU run to 6-0 with a layup of his own at 15:58 as the 'Birds went up, 6-4. UVU responded with a layup as both squads went into the first media timeout at 15:22 with a tied 6-6 score.
The Wolverines converted the old-fashioned three-point play coming out of the break, while Spurgin turned in another layup to put SUU up 8-7 with 15:07 to go. Following a three-pointer from Utah Valley, Allen sank a jumper with 14:40 on the clock to tie the contest again at 10-10.
UVU responded with a 4-0 burst to take a 14-10 lead before Spurgin turned in another layup to cut the lead to 14-12 with 13:16 to go. The Wolverines then drained another trifecta to take a 17-12 advantage into the next media timeout with 11:43 on the clock.
Utah Valley sank a pair from the charity stripe coming out of the timeout to take a 19-12 lead before Harrison Butler countered with a pair of made free throws of his own to shave the gap to 19-14 at the 11:27 mark.
The Wolverines split a pair of free throws before Dee Barnes drove the lane and banked a shot in as SUU moved to within 20-16 with 10:50 on the clock. Parsa Fallah pushed it to a 4-0 run for the 'Birds as they closed to within 20-18 at the 10:10 mark.
After an old-fashioned three-point play from UVU, Barnes drained a deep trifecta to pull SUU back to within 23-21 with 9:18 to go. The Wolverines then made four straight free throws to extend their lead to 27-21 heading into a media timeout with 7:26 on the clock.
Southern Utah answered out of the break as Tevian Jones drilled a trey to move SUU to within 27-24 with 7:14 to go. The Wolverines stretched their lead back to seven before Spurgin split a pair at the line to cut the gap to 31-25 with 6:01 on the clock.
Utah Valley stretched its lead to double digits, 35-25, with 4:51 before Spurgin drove the lane again and converted both from the charity stripe to pull back to within 35-27 with 4:36 to go. UVU replied with another trey to grab a 38-27 lead heading into another media timeout with 3:59 on the clock.
Martel Williams put back a missed SUU three-pointer to cut the lead to 40-29 with 3:13 to go. After another 4-0 UVU run, Allen picked off a pass en route to a dunk with 1:39 to close to within 44-31. With UVU up 46-31, Jones managed to draw a foul and then canned a pair from the charity stripe as the 'Birds pulled to within 46-33 with 36 seconds on the clock. UVU sank a final jumper to grab a 48-33 lead heading into halftime.
Second Half
Tevian Jones started the second half quickly with a jumper to cut the advantage to 48-35 with 19:13 to go. Following a UVU layup, Jason Spurgin scored a layup of his own as the 'Birds moved to within 50-37 with 18:40 on the clock.
Maizen Fausett then drained a trifecta as part of a 5-0 run to quickly cut the lead to 50-40 with 18:03 to go. Spurgin split a pair at the charity stripe as SUU closed to within 50-41 at the 17:39 mark. Spurgin remained aggressive, drawing another foul down low, as he went 1-for-2 at the line as the 'Birds moved within 50-42 with 16:53 on the clock.
Following multiple missed point-blank shots by Utah Valley, Drake Allen extended the streak to 10-0 with a trifecta to cut the deficit to 50-45 with 15:55 to go. Jones answered with a three-pointer of his own as the Thunderbird run moved to 13-0 and SUU closed to within 50-48 at the 15:00 mark. That induced a Utah Valley timeout.
The timeout proved fruitful for the Wolverines with a three-pointer out of the break to push their lead back to 53-48 with 14:38 to go. Allen countered with a reverse layup at the 13:36 mark to pull SUU within 53-50 with 13:36 on the clock.
After four consecutive made free throws by UVU, Allen raced his way to a layup to pull SUU to within 57-52 with 12:31 to go. Fausett responded to a Utah Valley dunk with a put-back tip-in as the 'Birds closed to within 59-54 with 11:18 on the clock heading into a media timeout.
With UVU up 62-54 following three straight free throws, Cameron Healy drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 62-57 with 9:30 on the clock. Spurgin followed a UVU turnover with a thunderous dunk at the 8:56 mark to pull to within 62-59, forcing another Utah Valley timeout.
Utah Valley responded with a 5-0 run out of the break to find some breathing room with a 67-59 lead with 7:52 on the clock. Jones responded with a pair of free throws with 7:38 to go as the 'Birds cut the gap to 67-61.
With UVU up 68-61 thanks to a made free throw, Healy sank a jumper to pull the 'Birds to within 68-63 with 5:16 on the clock. After a UVU jumper, Jones connected on a pair of free throws to cut the gap to 70-65. UVU went on another 5-0 run to extend the lead back to 75-65 with 4:17 to go before Spurgin scored a layup as SUU moved to within 75-67 with 3:51 on the clock.
After the game came to a screeching halt following replay reviews as Utah Valley led 80-68, Allen drained a deep trifecta to chop the deficit to 80-71 with 1:54 on the clock.
Utah Valley, however, closed the door down the stretch at the line to win, 90-83
Notable Plays
Next Up
Southern Utah returns home looking to split the season series against Utah Tech on Friday, Feb. 17.
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