The Southern Utah men’s and women’s basketball teams were in action on Saturday as both faced the Tarleton State Texans.
The men’s team was ultimately defeated on the road 75-58, while the women’s squad fell at home, 74-53.
Here are recaps of both games from Saturday, beginning with the home loss by the women’s team.
Women’s basketball
The T-birds started slowly and were never able to recover, falling 74-53 Saturday afternoon.
Tarleton State started the game strong, taking a seven-point lead into the first quarter break (19-12). Before long, the Texans had pushed their advantage to 14 in the second period. SUU was able to cut the lead down to 10 at the halftime break (34-24), but TSU responded in the third quarter, pushing the lead back to 13 (53-40) heading to the final frame. Tarleton put the game away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the T-birds 21-13 to secure a 21-point victory.
Ava Uhrich led Southern Utah on offense in the loss, totaling 15 points in just 17 minutes of action. Daylani Ballena chipped in 12 points.
With the loss, SUU has dropped back-to-back games while falling to 4-17 on the season, including 2-6 in conference play.
Up next
The T-birds (4-17, 2-6 WAC) will stay home for their next game, a battle with Cal Baptist on Thursday, Feb. 6.
The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+.
Men’s basketball
Facing the Texans on the road, the injury-riddled Thunderbirds dropped their fifth straight contest in a 75-58 defeat.
The game was close early, as SUU trailed by four with 10 minutes to play in the opening half. That would be as close as it would get, however, as Tarleton State would push its lead up to 14 by the end of the half. The T-birds would cut the deficit to nine (51-42) with just under 13 minutes remaining, but the Texans would answer with a 9-0 spurt to make it an 18-point game. TSU would lead by as many as 20 before closing out the 17-point win, 75-58.
Jamir Simpson was the top performer for SUU in the loss, totaling a game-high 24 points.
The T-birds shot just 28.6 percent from three in the loss, committing 19 turnovers and losing the points in the paint battle, 50-26.
Up next
Southern Utah (9-13, 1-7 WAC) wraps up a three-game road trip against Cal Baptist on Thursday, Feb. 6.
The T-birds and Lancers will face off at 8 p.m. MT, while the game can be streamed on ESPN+.
