ARLINGTON, TEXAS -- The SUU Men's Basketball team lost 13 straight true road games to start the season, and after knocking off UT Arlington on Saturday, has won two straight conference road games.

The Thunderbirds held the Mavericks to 73 points and dropped in 78 to pull off the big win after a tough travel week.

Head Coach Rob Jeter said

Top T-Birds

• True freshman point guard Elijah Duval once again led all players in scoring, dropping in an efficient 20 points on 7-12 from the field and 2-3 from deep. 
• Dylan Jones also had a very efficient afternoon, scoring 14 points on 5-7 from the field and 2-3 from three.
• Kai Burdick started for the third time this season and made the most of his opportunity, scoring 10 points on 5-6 from the field, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out three assists, and having three blocks.
• Five different Thunderbirds recorded double-digit scoring: Duval, Jones, Burdick, Tanner Hayhurst (11), and Jaiden Feroah (10).

HIGHLIGHTS

Game Recap

The Thunderbirds started hot from the floor and jumped out to a 12-5 lead and the under-16 media timeout thanks to a 5-6 start from the floor, including a triple from Elijah Duval.

The Mavericks immediately went on a 6-0 run to make it just a one-point game, but big Kai Burdick came up with a layup to stop the bleeding that was a part of his big first half.

Southern Utah held the lead for nearly the entire first half, until a late push from UTA gave the lead on a pair of free throws at the 5:35 mark.

SUU closed the half on a 9-2 run and went into the break with a 34-29 lead.

Duval scored the first points of the second half and pushed the lead to seven, but the Mavericks would not let the game slip away and responded with a 7-0 run that ultimately tied the game at 36.

UTA had all the momentum, but blew a defensive coverage and left Tanner Hayhurst wide open from the corner, and he made them pay with a triple.

The Mavericks took the lead with 8:15 remaining in the game, but SUU answered immediately with a Dylan Jones triple and extended the lead from there.

An 8-0 run late in the game gave SUU its biggest lead, 73-61, with 1:06 remaining. With a comfortable lead, the T-Birds got sloppy with the basketball, and UTA knocked down some shots and cut into the SUU lead slightly. But made free throws from the T-Birds ultimately led to a 78-73 win.

Statistical Recap

After limiting their turnovers on Thursday, SUU struggled against an aggressive Mavericks team, turning the ball over 16 times, which led to 25 UTA points. But SUU dominated on the glass, corralling 38 rebounds compared to just 28 for UTA.

Despite being the best team in the WAC at limiting fouls per game, the Mavericks shot 29 free throws in the contest and shot 14 in the first half, compared to just one attempt for SUU.

SUU had 29 bench points, aided by 14 from Jones, but Logan Stephens had three points, three rebounds, and three assists in just 14 minutes of action. True freshman Cale Barclay played just 10 minutes and scored five points, corralled three rebounds, and dished an assist.

The Thunderbirds shot 54% from the field, 33% from deep, and 70% from the charity stripe.

Up Next

The team will stay in Texas for the next week and will be back in action at Tarleton State on Thursday, February 19. The game will tipoff at 6:00 p.m.

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