Southern Utah faces UT Rio Grande Valley following Jones' 20-point showing

Updated Dec. 30, 2022 2:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (8-5, 0-1 WAC) at Southern Utah Thunderbirds (9-5, 1-0 WAC)

Cedar City, Utah; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Southern Utah hosts the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros after Tevian Jones scored 20 points in Southern Utah's 79-75 victory against the New Mexico State Aggies.

The Thunderbirds have gone 5-1 in home games. Southern Utah is third in college basketball with 89.2 points and is shooting 47.7% from the field.

The Vaqueros are 0-1 in WAC play. UT Rio Grande Valley averages 82.8 points while outscoring opponents by 3.9 points per game.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Drake Allen is averaging 10 points and 1.5 steals for the Thunderbirds. Jones is averaging 18.4 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 40.4% over the past 10 games for Southern Utah.

Justin Johnson is scoring 19.8 points per game with 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists for the Vaqueros. Will Johnston is averaging 16.6 points and 3.5 assists over the last 10 games for UT Rio Grande Valley.

LAST 10 GAMES: Thunderbirds: 6-4, averaging 83.4 points, 36.4 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 8.5 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.3 points per game.

Vaqueros: 6-4, averaging 82.6 points, 32.5 rebounds, 15.6 assists, 4.8 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 50.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 84.9 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.