Southern Utah’s Slow Start Dooms T-Birds To Loss Vs. UT Arlington
Feb 1, 2024, 8:59 PM | Updated: Mar 2, 2024, 8:35 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The Southern Utah men’s basketball team dropped a home game after a slow start against the UT Arlington Mavericks.
SUU falls to UT Arlington
The Thunderbirds hosted the Mavericks at the America First Events Center in Cedar City, Utah on Thursday, February 1.
SUU lost to UT Arlington, 76-68.
FINAL.#TBirdNation ⚡️ #RaiseTheHammer pic.twitter.com/b9skJTwFp8
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2024
The Thunderbirds and Mavericks were knotted on the scoreboard at 5-5 with 16-57 left to play in the first half.
Braden gets us started ‼️ pic.twitter.com/6Rixdj9aq8
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2024
Following the tie, UT Arlington went on a 15-4 run to take control of the game. The Mavericks would go on to win the first half by nine points.
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After the halftime break, the Thunderbirds failed to make up any ground on the Mavericks’ lead until the final minute. By that point, it was too late for SUU.
Southern Utah outscored UT Arlington by one point over the final 20 minutes of game time and was unable to completely bounce back from the early deficit.
Defense ➡️ Offense 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Z2D4Vwq3bu
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 2, 2024
Southern Utah ended the evening shooting 35.4 percent from the field, including 25.0 percent on three-pointers. UT Arlington shot 41.9 percent overall and 46.2 percent from distance.
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Braden Housley and Prophet Johnson each scored 16 points for the T-Birds.
Phillip Russell scored 22 points for the Mavericks.
Up Next for Southern Utah men’s basketball
With the win, the Thunderbirds improved to a record of 7-12 this season, including 2-6 in Western Athletic Conference games.
Southern Utah’s next game is at home against the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros on Saturday, February 3 at 6:30 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Kyle Ireland is a Sports Producer and Locals in the NFL Insider for KSLSports.com. Listen to Ireland on Yards After College: An NFL Podcast. Follow him on X (@kyleireland), Threads (@kyleirelandksl), and Instagram (@kyleirelandksl).
