CEDAR CITY, UTAH -- The SUU Men's Basketball team came up short for the second time in a row inside the America First Event Center, falling to the Lancers of CBU 83-66.

Head Coach Rob Jeter said

Top T-Birds

• Isaiah Cottrell finally proved that he can shoot the deep ball. He led the team with 24 points on 9-12 from the floor and 4-5 from deep. He also had two assists, a block, and a steal.
• Kai Burdick started for the Thunderbirds for just the second time this season, and led the team with 10 rebounds on the night. He also chipped in seven points and had four big blocks.
• The true freshman point guard, Elijah Duval, continues to impress, scoring 14 points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing four assists.

HIGHLIGHTS

Game Recap

The Lancers started the game on fire, and the Thunderbirds did all they could to keep up with CBU's offensive showing. 

At the under-16 media timeout, the Lancers led 14-13, with both teams shooting well from the field. Each time it felt like CBU was going to pull away, the T-Birds had an answer.

With 10 minutes left in the first half, SUU trailed by just one point, but CBU put together a 14-5 run over the next seven minutes of game time and opened up the lead to 11-points.

SUU closed with a ferocious run and cut the deficit to five points, but two offensive rebounds for CBU led to a layup as time expired, and the Lancers took a 43-36 lead into the break.

The second half started with a 10-2 CBU run, and SUU was on its heels. A massive three-pointer from Cottrell stopped the bleeding and kept the T-Birds in the ball game.

The Thunderbirds stayed within 10-12 points for most of the second half, until they finally got back-to-back stops and cut the lead to six points with 6:29 remaining.

After another stop on defense, SUU had the ball with a chance to make it a four-point game, but were unable to get a quality look. CBU took the rebound and knocked down a triple to push the lead back to nine points.

This sparked a 14-0 run for the Lancers, and suddenly the ball game was over. After cutting the deficit to 63-69, the T-Birds didn't score again until it was 83-63.

Statistical Recap

The most glaring statistic from the game was in the rebounding margin. SUU was outrebounded 42-30 and 13-8 on the offensive glass. CBU's 13 offensive rebounds led to 18 second-chance points.

SUU shot 42% from the floor, 39% from deep, and just 55% from the free-throw line. The Thunderbirds did a quality job limiting turnovers, committing just eight, which led to nine points for the Lancers.

SUU was outscored in the paint 46-28, adding to the physical aspect of the game that Coach Jeter referenced in his postgame.

The Thunderbirds had seven blocks on the night and once again distributed the ball well, recording 14 assists on 24 made field goals.

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will be on the road for their next three contests, taking on UTA for the third time this season on Saturday, February 14, at 1:00 p.m.

Due to the unique nature of this season's conference schedule, the Thunderbirds will be in Texas for the next 10 days.

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