SUU Out-Paced by Grand Canyon

CEDAR CITY, UTAH -- The SUU Men's Basketball team was without second-leading scorer Dominique Ford and was unable to keep pace with high-powered GCU, ultimately falling 74-59.

Top T-Birds

• Jamir Simpson led all scorers with 21 points and a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line.
• Hercy Miller scored 10 points and had two assists in his first start.
• Kai Burdick recorded two points and pulled down six rebounds in just 10 minutes.

Game Recap

The lack of Dominique Ford was apparent early on in the game, with SUU struggling to find buckets on offense. However, some strong defense kept the T-Birds in it early, and at the under-12 media timeout, it was just a 12-9 lead for the Lopes.

GCU proceeded to go on an 8-2 run and built on their lead. A steal by Traivar Jackson led to a JaKobe Coles three-pointer, and the lead was 11 with under seven minutes to play in the first half.

With 2:56 to play in the half, the lead had ballooned to 16, but a strong run to close the half saw SUU cut it to 10 with just two seconds remaining. GCU inbounded the ball under their own basket, Coles pump-faked a three to create space, and then knocked down a long ball at the buzzer to take a 40-27 lead into the break.

Despite multiple opportunities, the Thunderbirds couldn't do enough offensively in the second half and never got the lead under double-digits.

SUU falls to 1-4 in WAC play and under .500 for the first time this season.

Up Next

SUU will run it back in the AFEC when the Lancers of California Baptist come to town on Saturday, January 25, at 6:30 p.m.