RIVERSIDE, CA – The Southern Utah Thunderbirds travel to the CBU Events Center on Wednesday to take on the California Baptist Lancers.
The Thunderbirds last game was an impressive win over the Utah Valley Wolverines, 79-67. The Lancers last game was a tough road loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros, 64-58.
Southern Utah is ranked No. 3 in the Western Athletic Conference. California Baptist sat at 7 before the game.
The first half
The Thunderbirds got on the board first, scoring on the first two possessions to take a 4-0 lead.
After giving up a three-pointer, Southern Utah went down and got the points back the old-fashioned way.
Feature the perfect move by Spurgin in the post 📸
And 1️⃣#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/bwrHMXKhm0
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
The Lancers continued firing from the outside. They took their first lead of the game on a 7-0 run.
Southern Utah got another one and one to tie the game at 10.
POWERFUL MOVE FROM PARSA 😤😤😤#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/0UkV5pqI3c
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes.
SUU shoots well from the field and from three.
.@mufausett giving the T-Birds a 1️⃣7️⃣-1️⃣4️⃣ lead after that 👌#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/IjpHMDbVHd
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
There was very good defense in the first half. A lot of the goals come from quick plays or hard shots.
DEEp Barnes 😏#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/wqmWCcKtoX
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
Drake Allen led Southern Utah in the first half with 11 points.
.@drakeallen13 muscles this and ☝️#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/rEZ0Mhfr8y
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
Neither team had a lead of more than 5 points in the first half. The Thunderbirds led for 13 of the 20 minutes regardless.
.@drakeallen13 WITH THE DUNK POSTER 🤯🤯🤯#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/mtKcW1qudj
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
At halftime the score was 42-38.
🆙 in half#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/B42SY8nJ8l
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
Second half
The Thunderbirds had a two-goal lead for the first few minutes of the second half.
Drake Allen continued to pour it on for SUU.
Treat yourself to a night @drakeallen13 🔥🔥🔥
He leads the team with 1️⃣5️⃣ points on 7-9 shooting ‼️#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/Sf0bNuPfLo
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
Tevian Jones got a posterizing backdoor dunk.
Tevian took ⬆️⬆️⬆️ and threw it ⬇️⬇️⬇️#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/nQtjUgZnP5
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
With 15 minutes left in the game, the Lancers tied the game at 50-50.
The Thunderbirds continued to shoot well from all over the court.
SHARPSH🎯🎯TER@camb0healy splashes his second triple of the evening 💦#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/UGgrn8ZWF0
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
SUU went on a 9-2 run with 5 minutes left in the game. They opened up a 7 point lead that quickly dropped to 3 after a couple of Lancer baskets.
.@TheReal_TJones is in the ZONE district 🔒#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/nWNtMxxZVW
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
California Baptist led by two points late. The Thunderbirds got a layup with a minute left to regain the lead.
TEVIAN HITS AND 1️⃣ WITH 1:13 LEFT 👀🤯
SUU 🆙 7️⃣2️⃣-7️⃣1️⃣‼️#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/SvqwkCzIsd
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
The Lancers drove to the free throw line with 4 seconds left. They missed both shots and the Thunderbirds got the rebound to seal the game.
Southern Utah pulled out the win 72-71.
I took care of work tonight 😎#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/LOGIiwZbs3
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2023
Chandler Holt is a digital sports producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in everything related to basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.