The Southern Utah University (SUU) men’s basketball team will close out its 2025-26 regular season with a home game against California Baptist University (CBU) this Saturday at the America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be available for viewing on ESPN+.
This final regular season matchup will also serve as Senior Night for the Thunderbirds, who will recognize eight seniors: Dylan Jones, Jaiden Feroah, Kai Burdick, Lorenzo Abellar, Logan Stephens, Langston Binns, and Chuks Isitua.
In their history against CBU, SUU has a 4-6 record and has lost both games against the Lancers this season. On January 17 in Riverside, SUU fell by three points despite Jaiden Feroah scoring 16 points. The second meeting on February 12 resulted in a more decisive win for CBU even though Isaiah Cottrell posted a season-high 24 points for the Thunderbirds.
SUU enters the contest with a 10-20 overall record and is 6-11 in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play. The Thunderbirds have been strong offensively throughout the season, ranking second in the WAC with an average of 76.4 points per game. However, they also allow the most points per game in the conference at 79.3.
The team leads the league in three-point shooting percentage at 35%, ranks third in field goal percentage at 46%, and holds second place in free throw percentage at 72.5%. They are also third in assists per game with an average of just over 14.
Individually, Elijah Duval is fifth among all players in conference play scoring with an average of just over 15 points per game and has scored at least 14 points in each of his last eleven appearances. Jaiden Feroah stands eighth in conference play scoring at over fourteen points per game and is second overall in rebounds with an average of seven-and-a-half boards per contest; he has achieved double figures thirteen times during conference games this year and recorded five double-doubles.
Junior guard Tanner Hayhurst recently earned his first WAC Newcomer of the Week award after delivering a career-high performance with twenty-five points against Utah Tech. Hayhurst leads SUU in made three-pointers while shooting nearly fifty percent from beyond the arc.
Center Kai Burdick has contributed significantly lately; most recently he tallied sixteen points without missing a shot (8-for-8) against Utah Valley.
California Baptist comes into Saturday’s matchup holding a strong position within conference standings—22 wins and eight losses overall (12-5 WAC). After opening their campaign with three straight defeats, CBU has won twelve out of its last fourteen games.
Dominique Daniels Jr., named preseason player of the year by the WAC, has led CBU by scoring twenty or more points thirteen times during seventeen conference games this season and averages more than twenty-three points per contest on forty-two percent shooting from the field. Martell Williams supports Daniels Jr., averaging thirteen points and just under five rebounds each outing.
CBU leads all teams in offensive rebounding within their league by averaging more than fourteen offensive boards each game—a statistic that could prove crucial as SUU looks to limit second-chance opportunities for its opponent through disciplined defensive rebounding.
Tickets for the upcoming Air Force Reserve WAC Basketball Tournament are currently available online via orleans.boydgaming.com.
