LAS VEGAS. Picked to finish ninth in its inaugural season in the Western Athletic Conference, the Southern Utah men's basketball squad finished second in the tournament after falling to Grand Canyon, 84-66, in the finale on Saturday, March 11.
Southern Utah's record moved to 22-12, while Grand Canyon improved to 24-11 on the season.
Individual Leaders
Senior guard Tevian Jones led the Thunderbirds with 17 points, while senior forward Maizen Fausett (12) and senior guard Harrison Butler (12) also cleared double digits in the contest.
Jones nearly became just the sixth member of SUU's 1400-point club with 1,397 points in a Thunderbird uniform and 1,494 overall after some time at Illinois.
Fausett pushed his third-ranked career tally to 1,539, while Butler holds sole possession of fourth all-time with 1,445 points.
Butler (8) and Fausett (7) led the team in rebounds as well. Fausett pushed his school record for career rebounds to 938. Butler stands second with 877.
Career-Scoring Charts
Points
1,710; Davor Marcelic (1989-1992)
1,568; Jeff Monaco (1997-2001)
1,539; Maizen Fausett (ACTIVE)
1,445; Harrison Butler (ACTIVE)
1,434; Dre Marin (2017-2022)
1,397; Tevian Jones (ACTIVE) (1,494 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 set a school record for blocks in a conference tournament game with five rejections. The previous record had been three held by Nate Bloom (2000 vs. Western Illinois) and Chris Wallin (2001 vs. Western Illinois)
- Spurgin's single-season tally of 56 blocks put is the fourth most in school history. Only Matt Hodgson (64, 2009-10), Jayson Cheesman (60, 2012-13) and Sean Allen (60, 1994-95) have rejected more shots.
- Spurgin's career tally for blocks now stands at 88, moving him to fourth all-time in school history behind Sean Allen (113, 1993-95), Matt Hodgson (99, 2009-11) and Ivan Madunic (98, 2016-21)
- Spurgin's shooting percentage of .606 ranks as the third-best in school history behind John Clifford (.624, 2008-09) and Casey Oliverson (.613, 2014-15).
- With a career .616 field goal percentage (247/401), Spurgin currently owns the school record. In fact, he's the only person to score more than 60 percent from the field as he currently leads Andre Adams (.598, 2018-20) for the mark.
- Sophomore guard Drake Allen led the way for SUU in assists with six.
- With a 9-6 record in conference tournament games, head coach Todd Simon owns a school-record .600 winning percentage in tournament play. The only other coach with a winning record is Bill Evans with a 10-9 mark for a .526 winning percentage.
- Jones' 582 points this year ranks as the sixth-best offensive output in school history.
All-Tournament Team
First Half
Following a GCU layup to start scoring, Harrison Butler canned a pair at the charity stripe to tie the game at 2-2 with 18:04 to go. Tevian Jones, the semifinal hero who won the game with a four-point play, drilled a three-pointer to push the 'Birds up 5-2 with 17:26 on the clock. GCU answered with a three of its own before Jones drained a jumper for a 7-5 lead with 16:48 to play. GCU responded with a layup to knot the game at 7-7 before Jason Spurgin sank two free throws to take a 9-7 lead at the 16:11 mark before heading into a media timeout.
Out of the break, Jones drove the lane and drew a foul. Jones then connected on both free throws as the 'Birds took an 11-7 advantage with 15:42 to go. GCU responded with a jumper to pull to within 11-9 before Spurgin went up for a layup to grab a 13-9 lead with 14:54 on the clock. GCU countered with a 4-0 run to tie the game at 13-13 before Jones splashed a contested trifecta to push SUU back up 16-13 at 13:31. GCU then split a pair at the line to close within 16-14. After a missed three-pointer by GCU, Jones hit a jumper to extend the lead to 18-14 with 12:11 on the clock.
GCU responded with an 11-0 run to take a 25-18 lead during the course of the next four minutes of play heading into a media timeout at the 7:42 mark. Cameron Healy ended the run with a sweet trey to cut the deficit to 25-21 with 7:30 on the clock. Healy went back-to-back from beyond the arc after a Spurgin block to pull the 'Birds to within 25-24 with 6:52 to force a GCU timeout.
After the timeout, Butler put the 'Birds back ahead, 26-25, with a jumper at 6:27 as SUU stretched its run to 8-0. GCU answered with a 9-0 burst to grab a 34-26 lead with 3:31 to play as the squads went into a media timeout.
Dee Barnes split a pair at the charity stripe out of the break as SUU moved to within 34-27 with 3:31 to go. After a GCU jumper, Barnes drained a triple to cut the deficit to 36-30 with 3:05 on the clock. GCU hit back-to-back threes to extend its lead to 42-30 at the 2:04 mark as the T-Birds took a timeout.
After GCU sank a pair of free throws to take a 44-30 lead, Drake Allen responded with a 1-2 effort at the line as SUU trailed 44-31 with 44 seconds to go. And, that's how the half would end.
Second Half
GCU opened the half with a three-pointer before Harrison Butler sank a nifty layup to pull SUU to within 47-33 with 18:44 on the clock. After a GCU layup, Tevian Jones hammered a dunk home to cut the deficit to 49-35 with 18:05 on the clock. Maizen Fausett extended the SUU burst to 4-0 as the 'Birds trailed 49-37 with 16:35 as GCU called a timeout.
Grand Canyon answered with a layup out of the break before Jason Spurgin connected on a layup to cut the deficit to 51-39 at 16:08. After a GCU layup, Drake Allen raced his way to a layup of his own to close SUU to within 53-41 at the 15:31 mark. Jones connected on a three-pointer after a GCU triple as SUU trailed 56-44 with 14:51 to go. The Lopes went up 59-44 with another trifecta as the teams went into a media timeout with 13:55 on the clock.
After a pair of missed GCU threes out of the break, Fausett sank a reverse layup to cut the lead to 59-46 with 12:55 to play. After another GCU made triple, Butler went 2-3 at the line as the 'Birds trailed 62-48 with 12:17 on the clock. Grand Canyon connected on a jumper to put the Lopes up 64-48 heading into a media timeout at 11:41.
After a GCU layup, Fausett banked a jumper in for a 66-50 deficit at 10:30. Allen connected for a pair of free throws as the 'Birds pulled to within 66-52 at the 9:59 mark. Barnes followed a GCU three-pointer with a jumper at 8:28 as the 'Birds trailed 69-54. Fausett answered a GCU layup with a jumper as SUU trailed 71-56 with 7:42 to play heading into another media timeout.
After a GCU dunk, Butler drilled a three-pointer to pull the 'Birds back to within 73-59 with 6:58 to play. The Lopes countered with a 4-0 burst before Fausett splashed a three-pointer with 4:52 on the clock to shave the gap to 77-62. Fausett completed the four-point play with a free throw as the 'Birds trailed 77-63. GCU converted a layup to take a 79-63 lead before the teams went into the final media timeout of the game with 3:21 on the clock.
Allen split a pair of free throws after a GCU layup as the 'Birds trailed 81-64 with 1:46 to go. GCU split two at the line before Barnes scored a layup with 45 seconds on the clock to cut the lead to 82-66. GCU closed out the game at the line with two more free throws for an 84-66 win.
Notable Plays
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