LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- The SUU Men's Basketball season came to a close in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the WAC Postseason tournament against the UT Arlington Mavericks in the quarterfinals. It was a defensive battle throughout, with the T-Birds ultimately falling 63-69.

Head Coach Rob Jeter said

"I am extremely proud of these guys. We battled all season long. We proved that tonight. We didn't have our best stuff offensively, but we kept battling and one of our best three-point shooters had a look to tie the ballgame and it just didn't go our way. But I am so proud of this group."

Top T-Birds

• Jaiden Feroah led all scorers with 22 points on 8-16 from the field and four made triples. He also corralled eight rebounds, dished two assists, and had a block.
• Despite playing limited minutes due to foul trouble, Elijah Duval still managed to pour in 17 points and dish a pair of assists.
• Kai Burdick led the team with nine rebounds and chipped in eight points in the loss.

HIGHLIGHTS

Game Recap

Neither team could find any offensive rhythm throughout the first half, but SUU was really struggling to score the basketball. 

The Thunderbirds went on two separate stretches in the first half without a field goal for over five minutes. 

Despite that, the T-Birds had a one-point lead with 2:37 remaining, but the Mavericks closed the half on a 6-0 run to take a 29-24 lead into the break.

The second-half was back and forth throughout the first ten minutes, but UTA eventually strung together some stops and extended its lead to 12 points.

SUU went on a 6-0 run to make it a six-point game, but UTA immediately responded with a 5-0 run of their own, and it was back to 11 with 7:24 to play.

The T-Birds had one final push in them with the season on the line, Elijah Duval came to the rescue and scored six straight points to pull Southern Utah within five. An exchange of buckets saw UTA take a six-point lead, but then Duval knocked down a triple, and the Thunderbirds were just one possession away from tying the ball game. 

A defensive stop led to Dylan Jones getting a good look at a corner triple, and the ball just barely rimmed off. UTA scored on their next possession, and the T-Birds just ran out of time.

Statistical Recap

SUU committed 14 turnovers that led to 15 points for the Mavericks, but the biggest statistic in SUU's defeat was giving up 20 offensive rebounds that led to 16 second-chance points for the Mavericks. 

Raysean Seamster had eight offensive rebounds alone.

The Thunderbirds have had the top 3FG% in the conference throughout the majority of the season, but went cold when it mattered most. Making just 6 of 31 three-point attempts.

SUU held the Mavericks to 34% from the field and 18% from the three-point line, but just couldn't put the ball through the hoop enough times to come back.

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