SUU men’s basketball trip to Idaho State canceled due to COVID-19

Southern Utah players Dre Marin and John Knight III react during win over Weber State, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 23, 2020 | Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — This week’s two-game Big Sky Conference men’s basketball series between Southern Utah and Idaho State has been canceled and the Thunderbird men’s basketball program has temporarily paused all activities following multiple positive COVID-19 test results amongst their Tier 1 individuals.

According to a news release issued Monday by Southern Utah University Athletics, the games that had been scheduled for Thursday and Saturday against the Idaho State Bengals in Pocatello will not be played.

At this time, any Big Sky Conference games that are canceled will not be rescheduled, according to the statement.

SUU is aiming to continue its season next week, when they are scheduled to host a two-game series against Northern Colorado starting Feb. 4.

The Thunderbirds are currently 11-3 on the season and 6-2 in Big Sky Conference play.

SUU’s most recent win was a 77-72 home victory over the Weber State Wildcats on Saturday, which avenged a loss to Weber State two days earlier.

“I’m just really proud of this team, they’re a resilient bunch,” SUU head coach Todd Simon said following the contest. “We just left so many things on the table on Thursday … and they were good shots, so we were just able to put that away and turn the page. We did better to not let our offense affect our defense, and today was a better representation of who we are defensively and who we need to be for the rest of league play.”

SUU Men’s Basketball, Cedar City, Utah, Date and time not specified | Photo courtesy of Brooks Nuanez, SUU Athletics, St. George News / Cedar City News

The game went right down to the wire, and with roughly 50 seconds on the clock, Damani McEntire forced a steal and was able to convert it into a layup to put SUU up 73-72.

“I didn’t play much, but the whole time I was studying everything he does,” McEntire said about anticipating the play. “I knew he was going to turn his back on me, so I knew once he turned his back I could steal it and lay it up.”

Maizen Fausett led the Thunderbirds in scoring, scoring 24 points in 26 minutes of action before fouling out late in the second half.

Harrison Butler finished the game with 18 points, scoring 14 of them in the second half. Tevian Jones finished with 17 points, hitting four triples.

At the point guard position, Dre Marin led the team in rebounds with eight.

Written by BRYSON LESTER, SUU Athletics.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!