Southern Utah Drops Fifth Straight To UT Arlington Mavericks

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Southern Utah Thunderbirds fell to the UT Arlington Mavericks, 90-85, after a second-half run resulted in a big hole to climb out of.

SUU shot an impressive 51.7% from the field and 45% from deep. UTA responded with a 50/50 shooting split and five more offensive rebounds.

The Thunderbirds will return home for a match against the Abilene Christian Wildcats on Thursday, February 29.

FINAL pic.twitter.com/Kkmz6BnTgL

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 23, 2024

First Half

The Thunderbirds came out of the gates scorching hot in Texas.

Led by Parsa Fallah and Zion Young, Southern Utah jumped out to a 9-0 lead.

The Mavericks were able to get on the board and slow the T-Bird’s momentum a bit.

But SUU couldn’t miss from deep. They made all of their first four attempts from downtown as they extended their lead to double-digits.

ZION CONNECTS AGAIN AND ITS OUR FOURTH MADE THREE pic.twitter.com/MN8E67X666

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 23, 2024

UT Arlington kept up with Southern Utah for most of the first half but couldn’t string together enough stops to erase the early deficit.

Young and Fallah were the main reasons. The duo combined for 18 of the team’s first 32 points.

With six minutes left until the half, UT Arlington went on a run.

The Mavericks outscored the Thunderbirds 11-2 over a three-minute stretch and closed the lead down to four.

AND ONEEEEE💪🏽💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/tCKH6UpKHl

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 23, 2024

Southern Utah managed to stay in front despite the late push from UT Arlington.

The Thunderbirds led by two at halftime, 39-37.

Halftime from Arlington pic.twitter.com/l4pKVg0xOn

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 23, 2024

Second Half

The second half didn’t go as well for the T-Birds.

DaJuan Gordon opened the half with five quick points to put the Mavericks up by three.

UT Arlington didn’t let go of their lead once they took the advantage. Southern Utah forced multiple ties but was unable to regain the lead.

Toughhhhh finish by zion! pic.twitter.com/F7cqGI0h4c

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 23, 2024

The Mavericks went on a run near the midpoint of the half that led to their biggest lead of the game.

They outscored the Thunderbirds 17-8 to take a nine-point lead.

🤧🤧💼 pic.twitter.com/IavYS9PdSi

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 23, 2024

Southern Utah slowly chipped away at the lead with hopes of completing a late comeback.

With just over five minutes left, SUU closed the lead down to one, 73-72.

UT Arlington responded to the scare with a 10-2 run to go back up by nine.

Dom cuts it to four!! pic.twitter.com/Z5VQVTBG6b

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) February 23, 2024

In the final minute, Southern Utah would drop the lead down to one once again.

The Mavericks held off the T-Birds and walked away with a five-point win, 90-85.

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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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