T-Birds Can’t Complete Comeback Against Cal Baptist

In a closely contested battle, the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds faced a setback on the road against California Baptist, falling 68-73 despite a remarkable second-half performance by Dominique Ford, who scored a season-high 28 points. The loss leaves the Thunderbirds with a 6-12 overall record and a 1-6 standing in WAC play.

The game remained tightly contested, with neither team holding a double-digit lead at any point. California Baptist maintained a seven-point halftime advantage, and despite SUU narrowing the gap to two points at 68-70 with 3:29 remaining, they couldn't complete the comeback.

SUU exhibited a solid 45% shooting accuracy from the field but struggled from beyond the arc, going 3-13 from three-point range. Dominique Ford's standout performance came in the second half, where he exploded for 28 points on 8-15 shooting from the field and an impressive 11-13 from the free-throw line. Zion Young contributed 15 points, going a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line, while Parsa Fallah started strong with eight of the team's first 10 points but finished with a total of 14 points and eight rebounds.

Chazz Hutchison delivered his best performance in an SUU jersey, playing 26 minutes, scoring six points, securing a team-high nine rebounds, and adding two blocks. Despite these efforts, Dominique Daniels Jr led the way for the Lancers with a new D1 career-high of 39 points on 24 shots.

Head Coach Rob Jeter acknowledged the recurring challenge for the team, stating, "Until we can string together multiple stops in a row, we aren't going to win these games. We pulled within two, but were unable to get stops down the stretch."

Looking ahead, the Thunderbirds will travel to Texas for upcoming matchups, facing Tarleton St on Thursday, Jan 25, and then taking on Abilene Christian on Sat, Jan 27. The team aims to regroup and build on their strengths to secure victories in the upcoming contests.