SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- True freshman point guard Elijah Duval led all scorers with 18 points, but the Thunderbirds couldn't match the number of free throws for the Huskies and fell 105-69. Southern Utah is now 4-8 on the year.

Head Coach Rob Jeter said

"Our offense looked good in spurts and we played more physical defensively, but now we have to do that without fouling. We played five high major teams in the preseason and it has prepared us for what we will see in conference play."

Top T-Birds

• Duval scored 18 points on 9-18 from the field. He also topped the team with nine rebounds and six assists in the all-around effort.
• Tanner Hayhurst had another extremely efficient night, scoring 16 points on 7-12 from the field.
• Isaiah Cottrell scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in just 25 minutes.

Game Recap

The Huskies jumped out to an 8-2 lead, but the Thunderbirds responded immediately on a three-pointer from Hayhurst, a layup from Jaiden Feroah, and another driving layup from Hayhurst to take a 9-8 lead after five minutes of action.

UW responded with a run of their own, scoring 10 straight points over the next 2:30 seconds.

SUU hit back-to-back threes courtesy of Hayhurst and Zach Bell to cut the Huskies' lead to 22-17 at the under-12 media timeout.

The teams exchanged buckets over the final 10 minutes, with the Huskies' lead growing slightly. With just over one minute remaining in the first half, JJ Mandaquit laced a three-pointer; the Huskies got a steal on the inbounds pass, and Mandaquit made another, and suddenly the lead was 20 points for the Huskies going into the break.

Elijah Duval started the second half with a bucket, and then Jaiden Feroah pulled the chair on the Huskies' big man, but was called for a foul, and Coach Jeter then received a technical foul, and UW went on a 7-0 run to make their lead 25 points.

SUU cut the lead back down to 20 points a few times, but couldn't string together enough stops to get any closer than that.

Statistical Recap

The Thunderbirds didn't shoot a single free throw in the first half, while the Huskies made 15 on 17 attempts.

The T-Birds shot 45% from the field and 28% from three for the game. They were outrebounded 43-31 and lost the turnover battle 11-2. The Huskies turned those 11 turnovers into 18 points.

Zach Bell played just 18 minutes but looked good. Making his first two attempts from the field for five points and dished three assists as well.

Duval had an unbelievable all-around game. Taking on a big scoring load for the T-Birds, but also dishing six assists and pulling down nine rebounds.

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will be in Flagstaff, Arizona, next Thursday, December 18, to take on the Lumberjacks of NAU at 5:00 p.m. This contest will be the T-Birds' final non-conference game.

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