OMAHA, NEBRASKA -- The SUU Men's Basketball team played the first of a three-game road stretch against the University of Nebraska at Omaha and fell to the Mavericks 90-85. Despite taking the lead late in the second half, the Thunderbirds couldn't get a stop down the stretch and fell to 1-3 on the young season.

Head Coach Rob Jeter said

"We won't win a lot of games giving up 90 points. I was proud of the resiliency, we got punched early and had a chance to lay down and give up, but we battled back and took the lead late. But we are still learning every game."

Top T-Birds

• Freshman point guard Elijah Duval led the Thunderbirds with 20 points, four rebounds, and five assists.
• Zach Bell had his best game in a Thunderbirds jersey, scoring 20 points on 8-13 from the floor, and collecting two steals.
• Jaiden Feroah nearly had another double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down nine rebounds to go along with two blocks.

HIGHLIGHTS

Game Recap

The Thunderbirds struggled to score the ball early on, only logging six points at the under-12 media timeout. Zach Bell provided a huge spark off the bench, scoring back-to-back buckets to pull the Thunderbirds back into the game.

At 9:43 left in the first half the Mavericks buried a three and their lead was 27-14, and then a mix of Bell, Cottrell, and Duval all scoring layups, the T-Birds went on a 10-0 run to cut it to a three-point game.

A three-pointer from Duval followed by a layup from Bell, and the Thunderbirds took the lead at 36-35 with just over three minutes left in the first half. However, SUU only scored one more bucket over the final three minutes and went into the halftime break trailing 42-38.

The two teams exchanged buckets throughout the second half, with neither team leading by more than 6 points.

The Thunderbirds took a 79-78 lead after two made free throws from Jaiden Feroah, but the Mavericks answered immediately with a layup and a foul on the other end to retake the lead by two.

Duval missed two free throws on the ensuing possession, and the Mavericks capitalized with two made free throws of their own.

A Bell missed a three-pointer, and two more made free throws from the Mavericks, and the game was essentially in hand.

SUU battled hard, but couldn't get the necessary stops down the stretch to emerge victorious.

Statistical Recap

SUU shot 48% from the field and just 25% from three. Omaha was 20-25 from the free-throw line, and the Thunderbirds were just 12-17.

Feroah added two blocks to his team-leading total with 12 now. Feroah (2-3) and Dylan Jones (2-8) were the only Thunderbirds to make multiple three-pointers.

Zach Bell started 7-7 from the field and finished 8-13, including 3-4 from the free throw line and 1-4 from deep.

Cale Barclay has been phenomenal as a true freshman for the Thunderbirds, scoring 11 points on 5-7 from the field, adding seven rebounds, dishing two assists, and snatching three rebounds.

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will quickly head to the state of Washington to take on No. 19-ranked Gonzaga in the Kennel on Monday, November 17, at 7:00 p.m.

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