Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OREM — Southern Utah had a hole to dig out in the first half against in-state rival Utah Valley.
The Thunderbirds also had a near-capacity home crowd inside the 5,300-seat America First Events Center to take advantage.
Tevian Jones poured in 20 points and six rebounds, and Drake Allen added 17 points, four rebounds and three assists as Southern Utah handed the Wolverines their second loss in league play, 79-67, in Cedar City.
Maizen Fausett had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunderbirds (15-7, 7-2 WAC), who jumped up into a tie for second with UVU (16-6, 7-2 WAC) in the conference. Harrison Butler added 12 points and nine rebounds for SUU.
Justin Harmon led Utah Valley with 16 points and four rebounds, and Aziz Bandaogo applied 15 points, 13 points and two blocks. Le'Tre Darthard and Trey Woodbury added 10 points apiece for the Wolverines, who lost their fifth-straight game to SUU in the in-state series that dates back to 2015.
Despite being outscored 48-46 in the paint, Southern Utah outrebounded the Wolverines 45-34 and outscored the visitors 10-4 in transition.
FINAL | @SUUBasketball 79, Utah Valley 67
— The Western Athletic Conference (@WACsports) January 27, 2023
Southern Utah with a big second half to take the win in front of a raucous home crowd, Tevian Jones led the way with 20 points #WACfeaturedpic.twitter.com/1XcBI9A1bP
"It was loud, and the student section was amazing," SUU coach Todd Simon told ESPN+ after the game. "That's the fun stuff; as a college student, you're making memories. If that's something we can provide, it certainly beats sitting in your dorm and watching Netflix.
"But all credit to our guys. That's a top-75 NET team; that's a very good team."
Bandaogo had 13 points and six rebounds in the first half, and Utah Valley shot 56% from the field to take a 39-34 advantage at the break.
But that lead was trimmed by a 5-0 spurt in the final 43 seconds by the Thunderbirds, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Jones to cut down the game-high lead of 10 in a first half where SUU trailed by all but 17 seconds of the first half.
Fausett's seconds 3-pointer of the game tied the score at 52-all with 12:24 remaining, and Butler gave the Thunderbirds their first lead of the half just over a minute later.
That prompted a run, a 14-3 spurt by the hosts that led to a 61-54 lead on back-to-back buckets by Allen midway through the second half. The Thunderbirds connected on 11 of their first 20 shot attempts of the half, including three of their first four 3-point attempts.
"We had to adjust to what they were doing," Simon said. "And we defended it differently, especially their length, in the second half."
The Wolverines, meanwhile, went ice cold inside a nearly sold-out America First Events Center. Utah Valley opened the half just 8-of-26 from the field and 0-for-5 from deep — even missing 3-of-5 from the free-throw line while SUU stretched the run as high as 22-5 to take control of their fourth-straight win in the in-state rivalry series.
In all, Utah Valley scored 48 of its 67 points in the paint on 47.5% shooting with just 4-of-13 made 3-pointers. The Thunderbirds shot 29-of-67 from the field (43.3%), including 5-of-14 from 3-point range.
The Thunderbirds' win hands Utah Valley just its second conference loss of the season, dropping the Wolverines into a tie for second in the conference with SUU, and a full game behind Seattle.
Utah Valley returns home Saturday to face New Mexico State (2 p.m. MST, ESPN+). Southern Utah has a weekend bye before traveling to California Best next Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. MST.
