By: Parker Haynie- Assistant Director of Communications
CEDAR CITY, UTAH -- Despite losing the final two regular-season games of the year, Elijah Duval earned WAC Newcomer of the Week honors after his incredible 30-point performance in the regular-season finale.
Head Coach Rob Jeter said
"Elijah has really come on as the season has progressed. He is an absolute competitor and just wants to win. His talent is one of the top in the league and he's earned all of the recognition he is getting."
Eiljah Duval has won four of the last six WAC Newcomer of the Week awards, and SUU has won six of the last seven.
Against top-ranked Utah Valley, Duval scored 20 points on 8-12 from the field and 1-3 from deep. He also grabbed four rebounds, dished four assists, and had a steal.
And then again on Saturday, Elijah was facing an extremely tough defense against California Baptist and the preseason WAC Player of the Year, Dominique Daniels Jr., and Duval went off for a career-high 30 points. He was 11-17 from the field, knocked down two triples, and made six of his eight free-throw attempts. He again corralled four rebounds, had four assists, and four steals.
Across the two final regular-season games of the year, Duval averaged 25 points, four rebounds, four assists, and 2.5 steals. His shooting percentages were 66/38/64.
Elijah has scored at least 14 points in each of the last 12 games, and has scored double-digits in 23 of his 30 contests.
He has upped his season average to 15.2 points per game on 47% from the field and 33% from deep. He averages four rebounds per game and over 3.5 assists per game. He also leads the team with 37 steals.
Up Next
The WAC postseason basketball tournament is up next for the Thunderbirds. SUU is locked in the No. 5 seed and will face the No. 4-seeded UT Arlington Mavericks in the Orleans Arena at the 2026 Air Force Reserve WAC Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada.Â
The quarterfinal matchup will be on Thursday, March 12, at 7:00 p.m.
TICKETS
Tickets to the 2026 Air Force Reserve WAC Basketball Tournament are available. They can be purchased online at orleans.boydgaming.com.
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Stay up to date during the 2025-26Â Southern Utah Men's Basketball season by following @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Basketball page on Facebook.
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