CEDAR CITY, UTAH -- Slow starts to both halves eventually led to a deficit that was too great for the Thunderbirds to come back from; they fell to the Mavericks of UT Arlington, 68-76.

SUU is now 8-13 overall and 3-7 in WAC play. They currently sit in eighth place in the WAC standings. 

"I am just embarrassed. I really wanted to play better for our fans, who come out and always show love and support, and we did not do right by the fans tonight." Said Head Coach Rob Jeter

Game Recap
With under eight minutes to play in the first half of action, the Thunderbirds had only scored 13 points and trailed UTA by 15. They were able to close out the final four minutes on a 7-0 run that cut the halftime deficit to just nine, 27-36.

In the second half, SUU didn't score their first point until 14:41 left to play. 

The lead grew to as many as 20 points, but some more solid defense down the stretch saw SUU cut it to single digits but could never get closer than eight. 

Statistical Recap
SUU was led by Zion Young and Prophet Johnson, who both scored 16 points on the night, the only two Thunderbirds to crack into double-digits. Young also had seven rebounds, and Johnson had four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. 

Dominique Ford had two fouls called against him in the first two minutes of the game and ultimately only ended up playing 23 minutes. He scored nine points and had four rebounds. 

Jamari Sibley struggled to get the ball into the basket, still scoring eight points but was 4-15 from the field and 0-3 from deep. He was able to pull down five rebounds on the night. 

The Thunderbirds were held to 35% from the floor and 25% from three. 

UTA was scorching from beyond the arc, making 12 of their 26 attempts. They ultimately shot 42% from the floor and 46% from three. 

Up Next
The Thunderbirds will have just a day to wash this loss from their memory as they are back at home on Saturday, Feb 3, to play host to the Vaqueros of UTRGV at 6:30 p.m. in the America First Event Center.

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