Cedar City, Utah – The Southern Utah University Thunderbirds returned to Centrum Arena with renewed confidence after a successful road trip, but were unable to keep the University of Northern Colorado Bears off the boards, which lead to a 90-80 Northern Colorado victory. The Thunderbirds were outrebounded 44-26 and outscored by 14 in the paint.
Southern Utah set the pace early, with Juwan Major hitting a deep two and John Marshal hitting back to back threes for an early 8-2 lead.
Northern Colorado found themselves in trouble early with four fouls less than four minutes into the game.
“We had a good first half and got off to a great start,” said Southern Utah head coach, Nick Robinson. “We did a really nice job of sharing the ball throughout the night.”
The Thunderbirds relied heavily on the three pointer early on, connecting on four of their first eight attempts. Midway through the first half, Southern Utah trailed by three before Race Parsons hit a corner three as the shot clock expired, tying the game at 23. That basket sparked a 7-0 run for the Thunderbirds, putting them up 27-23.
The rest of the first half proved to be a back and forth affair. While Southern Utah continued their hot shooting from three, Northern Colorado made the most of their trips to the foul line, shooting 7-9.
At the end of the half, the Thunderbirds had a narrow two point lead.
“We played extremely well offensively tonight,” Robinson said.
Northern Colorado started the second half hot, scoring the first two baskets to for a 38-36 lead. The Thunderbirds refused to rollover, however, and trailed by just one point at the 15:00 mark.
With 12:32 remaining, Casey Oliverson was hit with an errant elbow, opening a cut over his left eye. He was called for a foul on the play, and Northern Colorado converted on both free throws to take a 53-48 lead. The Bears took advantage of Oliverson being forced to exit the contest because of bleeding, scoring their next four baskets in the paint.
With Oliverson on the bench, the Thunderbirds were called for their seventh foul of the half, putting Northern Colorado in the bonus with over ten minutes left in the game. The Bears continued to go inside and make the most of their free throw opportunities to open up the game and take a 65-57 with eight minutes left.
Northern Colorado steadily built on their lead from there, amassing a 14 point lead with just three minutes left. The Thunderbirds continued to fight, but the lead was too much to overcome. Southern Utah brought the game back within eight points, but eventually fell, 90-80.
Coach Robinson took responsibility for the loss. “…we competed the entire night. Our guys didn’t give up until the final buzzer sounded. There are positives of every game, and the negatives are on me tonight.”
Trey Kennedey and Race Parsons led the Thunderbirds with 19 points apiece. James McGee added 15 points and six assists. Northern Colorado converted on 31 of 41 free throw attempts.
The Southern Utah Thunderbirds return to Centrum Arena on Saturday afternoon, January 23, against the University of North Dakota. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 pm.
Hayden Coombs 