ARLINGTON, Texas – The Southern Utah Thunderbirds traveled to the College Park Center to face the UT Arlington Mavericks on Thursday.

The Thunderbirds’ last game was a 7-point loss to in-state foe Utah Valley. The Mavericks’ last game was a 5-point win over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks.

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds entered the game as the second seed in the Western Athletic Conference.

First half

After both teams failed to score in the opening minutes, the Thunderbirds broke the seal and jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

Maizen washes it in to start the night 🤠#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/R5E5JPPFDy

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

SUU took this momentum and ran with it. Ball movement and effective shooting gave them a 13-4 lead after 5 minutes of play.

The Thunderbirds did a lot of their work in the paint early.

Ask ⬇️ the defender for the simple ✌️#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/hNqQ5CeimZ

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

UT Arlington got closer over the next few minutes by making stops and swinging the ball around the arc on offense.

BT in transition to get us started 🎯#BuckEm🐎 || #BSWArlington pic.twitter.com/94FXD1ZVZX

— UTA Men’s Basketball (@UTAMavsMBB) 24 February 2023

Halfway through the first half, Southern Utah led, 17-11.

SUU opened its first double-digit lead of the game with 7 minutes left in the half.

Defense ➡️ Attack. T-Birds ✋ the ball out of the air for 2️⃣ more#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/tgzhbRm2Th

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

After the Mavericks got it back to 5, Dee Barnes hit a big three to take some of the momentum back.

Dee goes Deep for 3️⃣

He has 5️⃣ off the bench for the ‘Birds 🦅#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/KS3b4GMxXz

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

Barnes was on fire in the first half. He scored 17 points on 6/6 shooting.

Dee is getting hot 🔥👨‍🍳

He leads the team with 1️⃣5️⃣ points#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/TZuSHznRgz

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

The Thunderbirds led at halftime, 42-30.

🆙 in half 😎#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/PmPNyvmsTT

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

Second half

Southern Utah came out aggressive in the second half. They doubled the ball which led to some transition opportunities.

Tevian Jones 🤝 Makes tough shots#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/0qJ8ndX5sf

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

Drake Allen converted a four-point play early in the half.

FOUR POINT GAME BY DRAKE 😱#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/2shj5grvv5

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

After nearly going down by 20, the Mavericks stormed back to make it a 12-point game again.

so HAPPY 🤌@TheReal_TJones has 1️⃣1️⃣ points so far#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/yHfWtY4g7g

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

They continued the run to drop the lead to single digits. SUU was able to answer with a trip to the free throw line.

With ten minutes left in the game, Southern Utah led 62-53.

Dee Barnes continued to pour it in for SUU.

.@DeeBarnes22 CAN’T MISS 🔥

He has 2️⃣0️⃣ on 7-9 shooting 👏#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/9xcOHCKt62

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

With five minutes left in the game, the Thunderbirds opened up a 15-point lead.

This four point play by Tevian *chefs kiss* 🧑‍🍳🔥#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/onIVXYTGra

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

Southern Utah held on to its double-digit lead the rest of the game. They take the win on the road, 86-76.

Took business tonight 😎#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/Qxe5YrM10k

— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) 24 February 2023

Chandler Holt is a digital sports producer for KSLSports.com, which specializes in all things basketball and soccer. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.

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