CEDAR CITY, UTAH -- The SUU Men's Basketball team was dominant from start to finish against the Abilene Christian Wildcats on Saturday night. The Thunderbirds handled ACU 74-52 to improve to 2-4 in WAC play and 6-13 overall.

SUU led by as many as 17 in the first half and 24 in the second half. The T-Birds never let the Wildcats lead.

Head Coach Rob Jeter said

Top T-Birds

• Isaiah Cottrell put together the best performance of his career on Saturday night. Scoring 13 points on 5-7 from the field, coralling a team-high 12 rebounds, dishing four assists, and blocking four shots.
• Jaiden Feroah had another stat-sheet-stuffing type of performance. Leading the team with 16 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, dealing two assists, logging two blocked shots, and two steals.
• The SUU splash brothers, Tanner Hayhurst and Dylan Jones, combined for 25 points and five made triples.
• Lorenzo Abellar has continued to excel in his backup point guard role. He had four points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished five assists to go along with two steals.

HIGHLIGHTS

Game Recap

SUU started the game the same way they started the win over Tarleton State, with a Hayhurst deep ball.

ACU was able to tie the game at 13 with a little over 13 minutes to play, but SUU answered with a 12-4 run to push the lead to nine points at the under-eight media timeout.

The Thunderbirds closed out the final four minutes of the first half on a 13-2 run that saw SUU take a 17-point lead into the break.

ACU scored the first seven points of the second-half and looked poised to make a run, but the Thunderbirds immediately punched back with a 6-0 run of their own, courtesy of back-to-back buckets from Cottrell.

SUU controlled the rest of the game, never letting the Wildcats get within 14 points. Eventually, the lead ballooned to as many as 24 after Jalen (Roc) Lee put together a personal 5-0 run. 

Statistical Recap

SUU was phenomenal defensively. After giving up 105 points to the Texans on Thursday night, SUU held the Wildcats to just 52. ACU had just 15 made field goals on the night, shooting an abysmal 24% from the field and 17% from three. The T-Birds had seven steals and seven blocks on the night.

The Thunderbirds were 48% from the field and 36% from three-point range. The T-Birds had the rebounding advantage (44-39) and a massive points-in-the-paint advantage (40-18). 

Five different Thunderbirds scored double-digits in the game: Feroah (16), Cottrell (13), Jones (13), Hayhurst (12), and Lee (11).

It is the first time in the Rob Jeter era that multiple players have recorded a double-double in the same game.

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will finish their three-game homestand next Wednesday, January 21, at 6:30 p.m., against in-state rival Utah Valley. The Wolverines are the top team in the conference, and the T-Birds will need all the help they can get from the fans! Come out and pack the AFEC!

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