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CEDAR CITY, Utah — Coming off a tough week with three losses, the Southern Utah men's basketball has its sights set on the Big Sky Conference's co-leader, as it travels to Montana for a matchup Thursday.
The Thunderbirds (5-10, 3-3 Big Sky) fell on hard times after starting conference play 3-0. SUU lost at Sacramento State 64-59 Jan. 7th, then to Weber State 81-74 Thursday and Idaho State 54-53 in a nail biter Saturday — each winnable games.
The three-game losing streak dropped the T-Birds into a four-way tie for third place in conference play, alongside CSUS, Montana State and Portland State.
While SUU could mope about its rough week, Head Coach Nick Robinson said his players have spent the past couple of days preparing for a rebound against Montana.
"(Monday), we got off to a great start in terms of film review and a team meeting to address the concerns we had over the previous week," Robinson said. "(We) came out with a lot of energy and excitement to improve."
The focus on the week, forward Jackson Stevenett said, was to keep strong after the setbacks.
"We've talked a lot about being mentally tough this week," he said. "Turnovers, I think, are a direct thing from that. Just the little things like that, taking care of the ball, making good passes and stuff that we've been harping on all year that we've been getting better at every day."
We've talked a lot about being mentally tough this week. Turnovers, I think, are a direct thing from that. Just the little things like that, taking care of the ball, making good passes and stuff that we've been harping on all year that we've been getting better at every day.
–SUU head coach Nick Robinson
Despite the losses, the T-Birds have found several bright spots.
Stevenett continues to lead the Big Sky with 19 points per game in conference games, while guard Damon Heuir is seventh with 15.7 points per contest.
Meanwhile, center Jayson Cheesman continues to lead the league in blocks and now has just 29 blocks to chase down former SUU center Matt Hodgson's school record for blocks in a season. The T-Birds also lead the Big Sky with six blocks a game in conference games, while remaining third in rebounding margin.
But after the three games in five days stretch, the T-Birds have enjoyed a brief break.
"It started to wear us out a little bit," Stevenett said. "We've had a few days before our next game, so we'll be plenty well rested and we'll be fired up and ready to go."
However, Robinson said the days off doesn't necessarily lead to rest.
"Rest — I wouldn't say that it's rest because you're going to play Montana," Robinson said, with a laugh. "The preparation has to be just as intense and as competitive as it has been in previous weeks, including last week."
However, the T-Birds suffered a huge blow to their interior Monday. Forward Julian Scott, who was averaging 7.7 points in nine games off the bench, tore his Patella tendon in practice and Robinson said the senior is likely out the rest of the season.
The injury is just another setback for Scott, who spent more than a month out with a stress fracture in his foot. Robinson added that Scott was set for surgery Wednesday.
The shorthanded T-Birds will now set their sights on a road trip to Montana, where SUU takes on Montana Thursday and Montana State Monday night.
"I think everyone's pretty excited to get another crack at another one of the leading teams," Heuir said. "After losing three games in a row, coming out against Montana, we're going to be pretty excited and ready to go."
The Grizzlies (10-4, 6-0 Big Sky) have been neck-and-neck with Weber State for the conference's top team. Despite briefly losing preseason Big Sky Player of the Year Will Cherry to injury to start the season, Montana has kept pace with the Wildcats.
I think everyone's pretty excited to get another crack at another one of the leading teams. After losing three games in a row, coming out against Montana, we're going to be pretty excited and ready to go.
–Damon Heuir
While Cherry was out, forward Mathias Ward and guard Kareem Jamar helped Montana keep pace with 15.3 points and 14.2 points per game. Cherry has returned to average 11.9 points and 5.3 assists in seven games.
"They've been shooting the ball at a very high rate," Robinson said. "They'll be ready to go. For us, I think it's a matter of being able to match their intensity and be able to come out and play well offensively and be physical and aggressive defensively like we have been."
SUU will then head out to Montana State (6-8, 3-3 Big Sky) for a matchup of teams currently tied for the Big Sky's third place spot. The Bobcats are led by Christian Moon, who averages 14 points a game. Moon has shot 47 percent from the floor all season and 36 percent from beyond the arc.
Xavier Blount has added 11.8 points per contest this season as well for MSU, which split its last road trip to North Dakota and Northern Colorado.
Tip-off against the Grizzlies is set for 7 p.m. Thursday in Missoula, Mont., while tip-off against the Bobcats is slated for 7 p.m. Monday in Bozeman, Mont.
