ARLINGTON, TEXAS -- The SUU Men's Basketball has not won a true road game in the 2025-26 season, and that trend continued Thursday night in Arlington, Texas. A rough offensive performance from the T-Birds led to a 61-80 loss to the WAC's top-ranked team.

Head Coach Rob Jeter said

"We just weren't prepared to handle their physicality tonight. We have to be tougher than that. We got pushed around in the paint, and they capitalized on that."

Top T-Birds

• Elijah Duval battled foul trouble all night long, but was extremely effective when he was on the floor. He scored 14 points, grabbed two rebounds, and dished two assists.
• Tanner Hayhurst only attempted one triple and missed, but still managed to pour in 14 points, largely in part to a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line.
• Jalen (Roc) Lee was the only Thunderbird with multiple made shots from outside. He scored 11 points on 3-6 from deep.

Game Recap

The top-ranked team in the conference proved why on Thursday night. UTA jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead and immediately had SUU on their heels.

The Thunderbirds did a good job of sticking around throughout the majority of the first half. Keeping the game within six points until the 4:53 mark.

But the Mavericks blew the game wide open over the next five minutes of game time. An 18-2 run to close out the half, including a buzzer-beating triple from Raysean Seamster, saw the T-Birds head into the halftime break trailing 23-45.

The lead ballooned to as many as 25 for the Mavericks, and despite Duval's best effort, the Thunderbirds could not string together enough stops to go on a run.

Ultimately, the game closed with the Thunderbirds falling 61-80.

Statistical Recap

SUU shot just 36% from the floor and 25% from three. Both teams turned the ball over 12 times and scored 14 points off turnovers.

The massive difference was in the paint. UTA collected 53 rebounds, while SUU managed just 28. The Mavericks stole 21 offensive rebounds and turned them into 15 points.

UT Arlington blocked 10 SUU shot attempts and had seven steals.

Jaiden Feroah ended his double-double streak at three games and lost his double-digit scoring streak at seven consecutive games. UTA did a good job slowing down Feroah, limiting the senior forward to just seven points on 2-8 from the field and four rebounds. Feroah did add two assists, a block, and two steals.

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will stay in the frozen state of Texas for a battle at Abilene Christian on Saturday, January 31, at 2:00 p.m.

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