FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA -- The Thunderbirds held a two-point lead heading into the halftime break, but were outscored 35-25 in the second half and would lose their final non-conference game. SUU will head into conference play with a 4-9 record.
Head Coach Rob Jeter said
"We just have to be better. We have to be tougher, more disciplined, and play with more urgency. We held them to 65 points, which is good enough to win, but we need to take better care of the basketball and take better shots."
Top T-Birds
- SUU was led by Zach Bell, who scored 12 points, grabbed three rebounds, dished three assists, and had a steal.
- Lorenzo Abellar was also impressive off the bench. Scoring 10 points on 3-4 from the field, snatching two rebounds and diming three assists in 20 minutes.
- Jaiden Feroah struggled offensively, scoring eight points on 3-9 from the floor, but he corralled 11 rebounds, recorded two blocks, and a steal.
HIGHLIGHTS
Game Recap
The Thunderbirds controlled nearly the entire first half of play in Flagstaff.
Tanner Hayhurst opened up the scoring with a deep triple that was followed by a spinning layup from Jaiden Feroah and then another deep triple from Elijah Duval that gave Southern Utah an 8-2 lead with just over two minutes played.
An 18-7 run over the next 10 minutes gave NAU a 20-15 lead. Still, SUU responded with a run of its own and eventually had a five-point lead with 21 seconds remaining in the half. An out-of-bounds play from NAU led to a wide-open triple from Abelman, and the Lumberjacks seized the momentum heading into the break down by just two.
Hayhurst started the second half the exact same way he started the game, with a deep triple off an assist from Duval. SUU held onto the lead for the first five minutes of the second half, but a triple from Kavon Bradford, just his second of the year, gave the Lumberjacks a 41-40 lead.
The team exchanged a couple of buckets each, changing the lead each time, until NAU forced a turnover that led to a triple and gave the Lumberjacks a five-point lead.
Abelman made another three just a few possessions later, and that was followed by a steal and an and-one that pushed the lead to 11 for NAU with just six minutes remaining.
The Thunderbirds did not go away quietly. Lorenzo Abellar scored back-to-back buckets immediately, and then Jaiden Feroah knocked down a triple that cut the lead to four just two minutes later.
Unfortunately, that is as close as it would get for SUU. Made free throws down the stretch by the Lumberjacks led to a 57-65 loss for SUU in the final non-conference game of the 2025-26 season.
Statistical Recap
This game was very similar on both sides, statistically speaking. Both teams shot 42% from the field, SUU was 38% from deep compared to 50% for NAU. SUU won the rebounding battle 36-35, and both teams scored 30 points in the paint.
The most significant difference was 15 turnovers for Southern Utah and just eight for NAU. The Lumberjacks had 11 steals and turned the 15 forced turnovers into 14 points.
Elijah Duval and Jaiden Feroah both had two fouls in the first half and had to sit for much of the first 20 minutes.
The Thunderbirds only shot 12 free throws; Abellar and Bell combined for 11 of those attempts.
SUU's two leading scorers, Feroah and Duval, were just a combined 6-19 from the floor.
Up Next
The next time the Thunderbirds are in action will be a Western Athletic Conference matchup in St. George, Utah, against the Trailblazers of Utah Tech on Monday, January 29, at 7:00 p.m. in Burns Arena.
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