CEDAR CITY, UTAH -- A 96-75 loss to the Lopes of Grand Canyon saw the Thunderbirds fall to 0-3 in WAC play and 5-9 on the season. The Thunderbirds three conference losses have been to three of the top-five teams in the WAC.
Game Recap
The first half was a lot of back and forth with the Thunderbirds leading for nearly ten minutes. With seven minutes remaining in the first half, the Thunderbirds held a 30-23 lead, but a 20 to 6 run in the final seven minutes saw GCU with a seven-point lead at the break.
The second half was all GCU, with what seemed like a relative ease, the Lopes scored 53 points in the second to just 39 for the Thunderbirds.
Statistical Recap
Grand Canyon shot 57.6% from the field and was 15-15 from the free-throw line. Outscoring the Thunderbirds 56-38 in the paint and won the rebounding battle by seven. Gabe McGlothan had an efficient double-double with 18 points and 10 assists on 8-10 from the field and 2-2 from deep. Tyon-Grant Foster led all scorers with 27 points on the night.
Southern Utah was led by Parsa Fallah who poured in 24 points on 10-13 from the field and 2-3 from three. he also had seven rebounds and a team-high two steals. Braden Housley had 15 points of his own to go along with a team-leading eight rebounds and three assists. Prophet Johnson had five points and five assists to lead the Thunderbirds.
"We are all tired of hearing the same old thing, but until we can figure out how to make it harder for teams to score on us, we won't win these games," said Head Coach Rob Jeter. "I take it personally as a head coach that I haven't been able to figure out how to help my guys defensively, there has to be something we can change as a staff to put them in a better position to succeed defensively," continued, Jeter.
Up Next
The Thunderbirds will travel to Orem, Utah to take on the Wolverines of Utah Valley on Saturday, Jan 6 at 2 p.m.
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