Southern Utah Drops Second Straight Game In Close Loss To Montana State
Feb 19, 2022, 4:27 PM
Southern Utah guard Tevian Jones (Courtesy of Southern Utah Athletics)
(Courtesy of Southern Utah Athletics)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Southern Utah men’s basketball team suffered its second consecutive loss in a home defeat to the Montana State Bobcats.
The Thunderbirds hosted the Bobcats on Saturday, February 19.
SUU fell to Montana State, 76-71.
Final in Cedar City.#StormTheSky pic.twitter.com/bttBqLnsEo
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 19, 2022
It was the T-Birds’ second straight loss and third in the past four games.
Prior to the last four contests, Southern Utah had won six of its previous seven games.
It was a close game throughout the entire contest and neither team owned a lead in double-digits.
All-around effort here in the AFEC 🤩 pic.twitter.com/eNbdflt5r5
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 19, 2022
After a pair of John Knight III free throws, the Thunderbirds owned a one-point lead with 15:56 remaining in the game.
SUU’s lead last a little over a minute before Montana State jumped ahead on the scoreboard for good.
You can TRY to guard @TheReal_TJones 🙅♂️ pic.twitter.com/O2SLMERQL3
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 19, 2022
Montana State won the first half by a single point and outscored SUU by four points over the final 20 minutes of action. Despite the closely contested game, the Bobcats captured a big conference victory on the road.
Southern Utah finished the afternoon shooting 43.1 percent overall compared to Montana State’s 50.9 percent from the field. The Thunderbirds went 7-24 for 29.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Jason Spurgin led the T-Birds with 14 points, four rebounds, one steal, and a block.
ANOTHER DUNK from @spurgin_jason ‼️
He is currently leading SUU with 10 points and hasn’t missed a shot 🥶 pic.twitter.com/vMD33VusJJ
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 19, 2022
With the loss, the Thunderbirds fell to a 16-9 record this season, including 10-5 in Big Sky Conference action.
Southern Utah’s next game is on the road against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Monday, February 21 at 6 p.m. (MDT) on ESPN+.
