SUU Battles Past Stephen F. Austin For Third Straight Win

SALT LAKE CITY – The Southern Utah men’s basketball team took on the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks for the T-Birds’ third straight win.

The Thunderbirds hosted the Lumberjacks at the America First Events Center on Saturday, January 14th.

SUU beat Stephen F. Austin, 67-58.

Big win 😤#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/rHAtJELPv5

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) January 14, 2023

The Lumberjacks arrived in Cedar City sitting in first place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 13-5 overall record, including a perfect 5-0 start in league play. Stephen F. Austin will leave Utah Utah with his first WAC loss of the year after struggling against the Thunderbirds’ defense.

The first 20 minutes of the race went back and forth on the scoreboard. Southern Utah took a slight lead into the locker room with a 31-29 lead. After the break, the Lumberjacks and T-Birds continued to battle for the opening 10 minutes of the second half.

With 13 minutes left to play, Stephen F. Austin had a multi-possession lead and was in position to close the game before a Thunderbirds outburst. SUU regained the lead two minutes later and never trailed. The T-Birds held off the Lumberjacks to close out a nine-point win.

Southern Utah finished the afternoon shooting 49.0 percent overall and 32.0 percent from beyond the arc. Stephen F. Austin shot 37.5 percent from the floor, including 41.2 percent from three-point range.

Three Thunderbirds scored in double figures. Maizen Faucett led the T-Birds with 19 points on 8-11 shooting, including 2-4 from three. He added 10 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Jason Spurgin and Tevian Jones combined for 28 points for the Thunderbirds.

Big time shot by @mufausett 🤤

SUU leads by 10 with less than three minutes to go #TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/wQocMUdcWT

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) January 14, 2023

Cameron Healy led SUU’s second unit with nine points on 3-8 field goals.

AJ Cajuste led the Lumberjacks with 11 points.

With the win, the T-Birds improved their record to 13-6 on the season and 5-1 in WAC action.

RELATED: Faucett, Jones combine for 43 points as Southern Utah knocks off Sam Houston State

Southern Utah’s next game is at home against the New Mexico State Aggies on Thursday, January 19 at 7:00 PM (MDT). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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