By Spencer Rodak, Southern Utah Gameday
Both Southern Utah basketball programs are in the thick of Western Athletic Conference action, each playing two games this week.
T-bird women’s basketball secured a pair of wins at home, taking down UT Arlington, 77-68, on Thursday before winning 71-68 vs. Abilene Christian on Saturday.
On the other side, men’s basketball fell at UTA on Thursday, 81-60, before ending the week on a high note with its first road win of the season, 79-76 over Abilene Christian on Saturday.
Read about the games from Jan. 29 & 31 below, beginning with the women’s basketball win on Thursday.
Thursday: Big game from Uhrich leads women’s basketball to 77-68 victory over Mavericks
Hosting UT Arlington at the America First Event Center on Thursday, the SUU women’s basketball team started strong and never looked back in a 77-68 victory.
The Thunderbirds took their first double-digit lead with just under three minutes left in the opening quarter (17-7), ultimately taking a 21-13 advantage to the second period.
UTA stepped up defensively in the second, holding Southern Utah to nine points, cutting the home team’s lead to six, 30-24, heading to the break.
The offense was on full display in the third quarter for both teams, as SUU edged the Mavericks 24-23 in the period. After three, the Thunderbirds led by seven, 54-47.
Southern Utah extended its lead to 15 with just over a minute to play in the fourth quarter (67-52), and despite a 6-0 UT Arlington spurt, ran out the clock for a 77-68 victory.
Ava Uhrich had a monster performance for the Thunderbirds, dropping 30 points on 9-11 shooting and a 10-12 clip from the free-throw line. She also added 9 rebounds.
The win was the third in a row for the T-birds.
Saturday: women’s basketball extends win streak, defeats Abilene Christian 71-68
Wrapping up the week, the Thunderbirds took down first-place Abilene Christian thanks to a strong second quarter, 71-68.
The opening quarter was back-and-forth, as the Wildcats took a slim 18-16 lead after the period.
Southern Utah would then find its groove in the second quarter, using two different 5-0 runs to take a 10-point lead to the halftime break, 40-30.
ACU responded with a strong third quarter, edging the Thunderbirds 21-15 to cut the deficit to four entering the final period, 55-51.
A tight fourth quarter saw the Wildcats battle back, tying the score at 66 with 1:37 remaining. Thanks to five Sierra Chambers free throws down the stretch, Southern Utah would hold on for a 71-68 victory.
Brooklyn Fely led the way for SUU, recording a double-double of 26 points and 17 rebounds. Chambers added 16 points and 7 assists while going 9-10 from the charity stripe.
With the win, the T-birds have won four straight, improving to 15-7 overall and 7-3 in WAC play.
Thursday: men’s basketball falls at first-place UTA, 80-61
Traveling to the Lone Star State for the first of two games, SUU men’s basketball dropped an 80-61 matchup with first-place UT Arlington.
The Thunderbirds kept it close through the first 15 minutes of the opening half, trailing by just six, 27-21, with five minutes left.
It was all Mavericks the rest of the period, as they used runs of 6-0 and 10-0 to take a 22-point lead to the break, 45-23.
Southern Utah edged UTA in the second half 38-35, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the first-half deficit. In the end, the Mavericks rolled to an 80-61 win.
The T-birds struggled offensively in the game, shooting 36% (20-56) from the field and only 25% from downtown (4-16).
Tanner Hayhurst and Elijah Duval each scored 14 points to lead the team in scoring.
The loss was the second straight for SUU, immediately following a three-game winning streak.
Saturday: A near-perfect Duval performance leads men’s basketball over ACU, 79-76
Facing Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon, the SUU men’s basketball team used a strong second-half performance to win its first road game of the season, 79-76.
The Wildcats started fast out of the gate, taking a 13-point lead midway through the first half, 26-13.
Southern Utah answered with an 18-8 run, cutting the deficit to three with just over two minutes to play in the half, 34-31.
ACU would finish the half by scoring five of the final seven points, taking a six-point advantage to the break, 39-33.
The opening minutes of the second half were back-and-forth, as the Thunderbirds battled back to tie the score at 51 with 12:35 to play. Soon after, a pair of Tanner Hayhurst free throws gave the visitors their first lead of the game.
Abilene Christian responded, getting in front by six with four minutes to go, 72-66.
Crunch time was all Southern Utah, as big shots from Hayhurst, Jaiden Feroah, and Elijah Duval put the visitors in front, 75-74 with 1:37 left.
After a Wildcats jumper put them ahead 76-75, Cale Barclay stepped up and knocked down two free throws to put the T-birds up with 42 seconds to go, 77-76.
A missed ACU jumper gave SUU the ball back, and Duval would seal it with a driving floater with eight seconds on the clock to secure the 79-76 win.
Despite 22 turnovers, Southern Utah shot a blistering 67% from the field (29-43) while knocking down 86% of its free throws (18-21).
Alongside the clutch late shot, Elijah Duval led the Thunderbirds with 27 points on 11-13 shooting and 4-5 from the charity stripe. Jaiden Feroah added 16 points on a perfect 8-8 from the field.
The win snapped a two-game skid for SUU, which now sits at 8-15 overall and 4-6 in the WAC.
Up next: men’s basketball
Southern Utah (8-15, 4-6 WAC) returns home for just one game this week, hosting Tarleton State on Saturday, Feb. 7.
The game begins at 6:30 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+.
Up next: women’s basketball
The Thunderbirds (15-7, 7-3 WAC) are on the road this week, facing Tarleton State on Saturday, Feb. 7.
Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+.
Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics.