Box Score CEDAR CITY, Utah. Senior forward Maizen Fausett's career-high scoring effort was not enough as the Southern Utah men's basketball team fell against Grand Canyon, 83-78, at the America First Event Center on Wednesday, March 1.
SUU's record moved to 19-11 and 11-6 in the Western Athletic Conference, while GCU improved to 19-11 and 10-7 in WAC play.
Career-Scoring Charts
Senior forward Maizen Fausett set a career-high with 31 points to close to within just seven points of becoming just the third member of the 1500-point club at Southern Utah. He now sits at 1,493 total points for the T-Birds behind only Davor Marcelic's amazing school record of 1,710 from 1989-92 and NCAA Tournament team leader Jeff Monaco's 1,568 from 1997-2001.
Senior guards Tevian Jones (14) and Harrison Butler (13) also scored in double digits. Jones increased his T-Bird tally to 1,338 points as well as his career effort to 1,436 with some time at Illinois. Butler, meanwhile, moved within eight points of becoming just the fifth member of the 1400-point club with 1,392 total.
Points
1,710; Davor Marcelic (1989-1992)
1,568; Jeff Monaco (1997-2001)
1,493; Maizen Fausett (ACTIVE)
1,434; Dre Marin (2017-2022)
1,392; Harrison Butler (ACTIVE)
1,338; Tevian Jones (ACTIVE) (1,436 overall)
1,300; James McGee (2014-2018)
1,297; Richard Barton (1989-1993)
1,273; Jackson Stevenett (2010-2013)
1,223; John Knight III (2019-2022)
1,205; Davis Baker (2007-2010)
T-Bird Tidbits
- Sophomore center Jason Spurgin (8) and Fausett (7) paced the Thunderbirds on the boards.
- Butler had a strong overall effort with five rebounds and four assists to add to his 13 points.
- SUU outrebounded GCU, 37-31.
- Spurgin recorded a block to push his season tally to 47. He's behind Kenyatta Clyde (48) for fifth all-time in a single season.
First Half
Maizen Fausett put on a personal 5-0 run to start the contest thanks to incredible assists from Tevian Jones and Harrison Butler. First, Jones dished to an open Fausett under the rim before Butler drove the lane and kicked the ball out to Fausett in the corner for a trifecta with 19:09 to go.
GCU responded with a tip back, before Butler countered with a layup to grab a 7-2 advantage with 18:17 to go. Jones then drained a deep triple to grab a 10-2 lead with 17:29 on the clock. Following a GCU three-pointer, Fausett ran his point tally to seven with a baseline layup to push the gap to 12-5 for SUU at 16:20 on the clock. Deja vu less than a minute later as Butler assisted Fausett for another layup as the 'Birds went up 14-5 with 15:36 to go. That drew a Grand Canyon timeout.
After a GCU layup, Fausett continued his personal tear with a layup to run his point tally to 11 along with an SUU lead at 16-7 with 15:02 to go. Butler sank a layup of his own to snare an 18-7 advantage with 14:45 on the clock. Jones followed a tremendous defensive stop with another trey to snatch a 21-7 lead with 13:42 to go.
The Antelopes responded with a 7-0 run before Fausett drained a deep triple to take a 24-14 advantage at the 11:52 mark. Dee Barnes followed with a back-to-back trey to grab a 27-14 lead at 11:17 on the clock.
GCU answered with a layup before Parsa Fallah joined the scoring with a layup of his own to stretch the SUU lead to 29-16 with 10:28 heading into a media timeout.
The 'Lopes scored two before Jones drained a difficult jumper to take a 31-18 advantage with 8:31 on the clock. Grand Canyon took over the game during the following 3:04 with a 12-0 run to cut the SUU lead to 31-30 with 5:27 on the clock.
Fausett ended the run with a layup to put SUU back up, 33-30, with 3:03 to go heading into a media timeout. Jones canned a pair from the line coming out of the break to extend the lead back to 35-30 at 2:29. Grand Canyon managed to close the half on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 35-35.
Second Half
The 'Lopes took their first lead of the contest with a layup to start the second stanza before Drake Allen split a pair at the line to cut the deficit to 37-36 with 18:49 on the clock. GCU stretched its advantage to 41-36 with a 4-0 burst before Jason Spurgin cleaned up a missed shot with a layup to pull SUU to within 41-38 with 17:21 to go. GCU followed with a 5-0 run to stretch its lead to 46-38 at 16:26 before heading into a media timeout.
Harrison Butler ended the GCU spurt with a layup to shave the deficit to 46-40 at the 15:33 mark. Tevian Jones attacked the lane with a layup of his own to cut the GCU lead to 46-42 with 15:03 to go, inducing a Grand Canyon timeout.
GCU responded with a jumper before Butler drained a three-pointer for SUU to pull to within 48-45 with 14:11 to go. The 'Lopes countered with a triple of their own before Spurgin sank a layup to put SUU behind 51-47 with 13:04 on the clock. Grand Canyon flushed another trifecta before Fausett converted an old-fashioned three-pointer to pull the 'Birds to within 54.50 at 12:19. Spurgin pushed the SUU run to 5-0 with a strong putback as Southern Utah trailed, 54-52, with 11:48 to go before a media timeout.
Jones came out of the break strong with a pair of free throws to knot the game up at 54-54 with 11:11 on the clock. After a GCU layup, Fausett ran his tally to 21 points with a layup of his own to tie the game at 56-56 at 10:36. Dee Barnes followed a GCU layup with a jumper inside the paint to tie it up again at 58-58 at the 8:10 mark.
The 'Lopes turned in an 8-0 run to take a 66-58 lead before Butler split a pair at the charity stripe as SUU moved to within 66-59 with 6:34 on the clock. After a 5-0 run from GCU to extend its lead to 71-59, Fausett drilled a pair from the free-throw line to cut the lead to 71-61 at 4:42.
Fausett drained a trifecta to pull SUU to within 71-64 at 3:38 as he broke his previous career high of 24 with 26 points. Butler answered a pair of GCU free throws with an old-fashioned trifecta to cut the deficit to 73-67 with 3:00 on the clock.
GCU answered with a deep three-pointer before Fausett pushed his tally to 28 with a jumper as the 'Birds closed to within 76-69 with 1:57 to go. After GCU split a pair of free throws, Fausett ran his total to 30 points with a layup as the 'Birds trailed, 77-71, with 1:34 on the clock.
The 'Lopes connected on a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 79-71 with 1:06 to go. Fausett split a pair of free throws as the 'Birds moved to within 79-72 with 41 seconds on the clock. GCU split another at the charity stripe to take an 80-72 lead before Zion Young swished a corner three with 13 seconds on the clock to cut the gap to 80-75.
After a pair of free throws for GCU, Barnes canned a three-pointer to pull the 'Birds within 82-78 with six seconds to go. GCU closed out the game at the line to claim an 83-78 win.
Notable Plays
Next Up
Southern Utah concludes the regular season at home with Senior Day against California Baptist on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m. MT.
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