CEDAR CITY, Utah. The Southern Utah men's basketball squad utilized a blistering second stanza to power past the Tarleton State Texans, 72-62, at the America First Event Center on Thursday, Feb. 9.
Southern Utah improved to 17-8 overall and 9-3 in Western Athletic Conference play. The Texans, meanwhile, dropped to 13-12 and 6-6 in WAC competition. The conquest avenged one of SUU's conference losses as the Texans previously beat the 'Birds, 68-65, on Thursday, Jan. 5.
Career-Scoring Charts
Senior guard Harrison Butler exploded for 17 points as part of a double-double featuring 11 rebounds. That effort increased his career tally to 1,348. Senior forward Maizen Fausett, meanwhile, scored 12 points to extend his career total to 1,419. Fausett, who became just the fourth Thunderbirds to clear 1400 points, closed even closer to former teammate Dre Marin's 1,434 career points for third all-time on the record charts.
Points
1,710; Davor Marcelic (1989-1992)
1,568; Jeff Monaco (1997-2001)
1,434; Dre Marin (2017-2022)
1,419; Maizen Fausett (ACTIVE)
1,348; Harrison Butler (ACTIVE)
1,300; James McGee (2014-2018)
1,297; Richard Barton (1989-1993)
1,273; Jackson Stevenett (2010-2013)
1,251; Tevian Jones (ACTIVE) (1,349 overall)
1,223; John Knight III (2019-2022)
1,205; Davis Baker (2007-2010)
T-Bird Tidbits
- Sophomore guard Drake Allen responded to a stifling defensive effort from Tarleton with an explosive game-high 19 points thanks to 5-for-8 from the field and 6-for-7 from the line.
- Senior guard Dee Barnes rounded out four players in double digits with 11 points.
- Southern Utah shot a scorching 76.9 percent from the field in the second half as the 'Birds beat the Texans, 47-31, in the second half.
- The Thunderbirds used the charity stripe to overtake the Texans, converting 85.3 percent from the line thanks to a 29-for-34 effort. The Texans, meanwhile, went 16-for-22 from the stripe in a testy contest. Additionally, Southern Utah went 24-for-27 at the line during the second half as head coach Todd Simon used an aggressive driving offense to knock the Texans out of their defensive dominance early on.
- The T-Birds dominated on the boards, winning that battle 33-23 including a 30-17 advantage in defensive rebounds.
- Southern Utah turned up the heat when it counted, leading for just 6:26 of the game, just 16.1 percent of the time.
First Half
Tarleton opened up with a quick 5-0 run to take an early lead before Jason Spurgin flushed a fantastic assist from Harrison Butler to cut the lead to 5-2 with 18:47 on the clock. Butler kept on distributing the ball as Maizen Fausett canned a three to knot the game up at 5-5 with 16:32 to go.
Butler then drilled a long-distance trifecta as SUU ran its run to 8-0 to take an 8-5 lead with 16:32 to play. The Texans responded with another 5-0 spurt to retake a 10-8 lead heading into the first media timeout at the 15:01 mark.
Tarleton stretched its lead to 12-8 with 14:08 before Fausett drew a foul to get to the line. Fausett split his shots at the charity stripe as SUU closed to within 12-9 with 13:44 to go. The 'Birds remained aggressive in the paint as Spurgin drew another foul and split a pair of his own to pull Southern Utah to within 12-10 with 13:15 on the clock.
The Texans turned in yet another 5-0 burst to take a 17-10 lead before Drake Allen drained a trifecta to cut the lead to 17-13 with 11:56 to go. Tarleton scored yet again before Allen connected on another three-pointer to cut the deficit to 19-16 with 11:03 on the clock. Tarleton extended its lead to 21-16 with 10:18 to go heading into another media timeout.
After a pair of Texan free throws, Dee Barnes drove the lane with a layup at 7:48 as the 'Birds moved to within 23-18. Tarleton converted another pair of free throws before Allen elevated for a thunderous dunk and drew a foul. He sank the free throw as the T-Birds moved to within 25-21 with 6:10 to go.
Following a Texan free throw, Barnes raced into the paint with a layup as SUU trailed 26-23 with 4:22 to go. Tevian Jones answered at the line as he sank a pair at the charity stripe as Southern Utah stood behind TSU, 28-25, at the 1:53 mark.
The Texans closed out the half with a trio of points to lead, 31-25.
Second Half
After a testy two minutes with more fouls than scoring, including a lengthy replay delay that amounted to nothing, Maizen Fausett converted an old-fashioned three-point play to cut the lead to 31-28 with 18:01 on the clock. The Texans responded with a pair of free throws to head into the first media timeout with a 33-28 advantage.
Harrison Butler scored coming out of the break to cut the lead to 33-30 with 15:28 to play. Tarleton, however, drained back-to-back threes to extend its lead to 39-30 with 14:25 on the clock. Butler responded with an old-fashioned three-point play to chop the lead to 39-33 with 14:05 to play.
Tarleton countered with a 4-0 run to stretch its lead back to 43-33 with 13:13 to go. Drake Allen raced down the court with a layup to shave the deficit to 43-35 with 12:57 on the clock. Dee Barnes then sank a pair at the charity stripe as the 'Birds pulled to within 43-37 at the 12:18 mark prior to the teams heading into a media timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, Butler went 2-for-2 at the line as the 'Birds cut the lead to 43-39 with 11:59 to go.
The America First Event Center crowd exploded at the 11:51 mark as Tarleton missed a pair of free throws, activating the free Culver's cheese curds promotion. The Texans responded with a free throw at the 11:33 mark before Allen drilled a trifecta with 11:05 on the clock to pull Southern Utah to within 44-42.
After a Tarleton layup, Allen split a pair of free throws at the 10:14 mark as the T-Birds closed to within 46-43. The Texans countered with three points to push the lead back up to 49-43 with 9:50 on the clock.
The Thunderbirds remained aggressive as Allen drove the lane en route to a pair of free throws with SUU cutting the deficit to 49-45 with 9:34 to go. Allen induced another foul and then canned both from the charity stripe to close within 49-47 with 9:06 to play.
Tarleton responded with a quick three points before Fausett converted a layup to put SUU behind 52-49 with 7:46 on the clock before heading to a media timeout.
Butler, who was fouled prior to the timeout, split a pair of free throws as the 'Birds trailed 52-50 with 7:02 to play. After a tremendous defensive effort, Barnes knotted the game up at 52-52 with 6:26 to go.
Tarleton countered with an old-fashioned three-point play before Fausett responded with one of his own to tie the contest up at 55-55 with 5:51 to go. Butler put the Thunderbirds back on top for the first time since 16 minutes in the first half with a pair of free throws, 57-55, with 5:10 on the clock.
The Texans retook the lead, 58-57, with a trifecta at the 4:16 mark before the final media timeout sent both teams to the bench. Butler sank both of his free throws coming out of the break as Southern Utah took the lead again, 59-58, with 4:01 to play.
After another SUU steal, Cameron Healy split his free throws to put the 'Birds up 60-58 with 3:32 on the clock. Southern Utah turned another defensive stop into a dagger three from Barnes in the corner as the Thunderbirds extended their lead to 63-58 with 2:57 to play. Healy then drilled a buzzer-beater three-pointer to push the T-Bird advantage to 66-58 with 2:01 to play as part of a 9-0 SUU run.
Following an SUU timeout, Jones pocketed a pair of free throws with 1:24 to go as Southern Utah stretched its lead to 68-58. Butler then turned in two more at the charity stripe with 49 seconds as the 'Birds took a 70-58 advantage. Jones sank another two free throws to push the lead back up to 72-60 with 23 seconds to go. TSU made a layup to close the game as the Thunderbirds closed out the victory, 72-62.
Notable Plays
Next Up
Southern Utah heads to Orem looking for the season sweep of Utah Valley on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. MT.
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