SUU beats UTEP to stay alive in The Basketball Classic; will host Portland on Saturday

SUU senior Nick Fleming brings the ball up the floor in a win over UTEP, El Paso, Texas, March 22, 2022 | Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — The men’s basketball team at Southern Utah University keeps setting new program records in postseason play.

Nick Fleming scored 18 points and Dre Marin continued his hot shooting with 17 points as the T-birds beat UTEP 82-69 Tuesday night in El Paso, Texas.

According to a press release, it was the second consecutive win for SUU in The Basketball Classic, and third overall postseason victory in school history.

The T-birds will host a quarterfinal matchup against the University of Portland Pilots Saturday at 4 p.m. in Cedar City at America First Event Center. Click here for ticket information.

SUU improved to 22-11 on the season after defeating the Miners.

Nick Fleming (1) and members of Southern Utah University’s men’s basketball team leave the court following loss to Portland State in Big Sky Conference tournament, Boise, Idaho, March 11, 2022 | Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics, St. George News / Cedar City News

The T-birds continued to shoot the ball well, hitting 58.2 percent from the floor and 43.5 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Fleming sank back-to-back treys as part of an 18-2 run that propelled the T-birds to a 31-18 lead in the first half. They led 40-29 at the intermission.

Besides Fleming and Marin, three other T-birds scored in double-digits against UTEP: Jason Spurgin had 13, John Knight III netted 12 and Harrison Butler contributed 11 points for the winners.

UTEP got as close as seven points behind SUU in the second half, but Marin stepped up and hit three consecutive 3-pointers in less than one minute to bump the advantage back to 18 and secure the victory.

SUU held UTEP to 37.5 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Miners 38-27. All seven T-birds who played in the contest scored points.

T-birds head coach Todd Simon has led SUU to a combined record of 42-15 overall and 26-8 in Big Sky Conference games over the past two seasons.

The winner of the Portland-SUU tilt on Saturday will advance to the semifinals of The Basketball Classic presented by ERACISM.

The inaugural Basketball Classic is a postseason Division I tournament featuring teams that did not get invited to the NCAA’s March Madness tournament or to the NIT.

 

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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