ST. GEORGE, Utah – Traveling to the Burns Arena to face rival Utah Tech in the WAC Tournament, the Thunderbird men’s basketball team’s season came to an end in an 82-75 loss.
The beginning of the game was back-and-forth, with neither side leading by more than five in the opening 10 minutes.
It would be Utah Tech that would make the first big run of the game, however, with just under 10 minutes to play in the opening half. Leading by just one (20-19), the Trailblazers put together a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to jump ahead by 12, 33-21.
Southern Utah would cut the deficit to nine, but Utah Tech would close out the half with a 36-25 lead.
The majority of the half number two would belong to the Trailblazers, as they would push their lead to 14 in just over three minutes (47-33). SUU was finally able to cut the lead down to five with 4:53 to play, eventually making it a three-point game with under two minutes to go (68-65).
It was too little too late, however, for the Thunderbirds, as ninth-seeded Utah Tech was able to hold on for a 72-65 win to advance to WAC Tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas.
Southern Utah was unable to secure the comeback win late, due in large part to a rough night shooting from three. While SUU was just 4-of-16 (25 percent), Utah Tech shot a sizzling 52.6 percent (10-of-19) to prevent the road team from securing a 3-0 season sweep of the rivalry series.
With the win, Utah Tech moves on to face No. 1 seed Utah Valley in the WAC Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
It was a disappointing result for the T-birds, who had already beaten the Trailblazers twice earlier in the campaign. It was also a sour note to the end of the season, with SUU finishing just 12-19 (4-12 WAC) following an 8-2 start to the year.
Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics.
