CEDAR CITY, Utah — Tarleton State Men's Basketball heads to Southern Utah for the second time this season on Saturday at America First Events Center with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 pm CT and 6:30 pm local time.
 
The Texans (11-12 overall, 2-8 WAC) will take on Southern Utah (8-15, 4-6) for the second and final time in Cedar City. The Thunderbirds got the best of the Texans on Jan. 15 with a 106-105 overtime victory. Dior Johnson scored 40 points for the second time this season, and Cam McDowell posted 24.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Kyle Crews will have the radio call on 90.5 KTRL and online on the Tarleton Sports Radio Network. For the most up to date highlights, news and updates follow @tarletonmbb on Instagram and X.
 
Acting head coach Glynn Cyprien filled in for head coach Billy Gillispie for the seventh total game and the fourth consecutive last night against Utah Valley. The Texans were also without Dior Johnson, Leroy Kelly IV and Chris Mpaka due to injury.
 
Andy Sigiscar tied his career high with 18 points on the road in a 56-55 loss at CBU on Thursday.  Sigiscar shot 9-for-11 from the floor. He picked up his fourth foul with 11 minutes remaining but continued to play finishing with 32 minutes of action, a new career best. He also tallied a team-high three blocks. The redshirt-freshman made his third start and scored in double figures for the fifth time this season.
 
On Thursday, Cam McDowell notched his 1500th point with a 14-point effort at CBU. McDowell scored 1,011 of his points at D2 NW Oklahoma State from 2023-25. He has totaled 277 as a Texan. Freddy Hicks notched 1500 points earlier this season as well. Hicks is the leading scorer in the Texans' D1 era with 1,203 points. He notched 330 points during his season at Arkansas State. Hicks crossed the 1500 point-mark on 1/3 with a pair of double-digit efforts against UVU and CBU. The duo is two of 112 active players across all levels to have scored at least 1500 career points.
 
In five of the last six games, the Texans have held the opponent's leading scorer to not lead the team in scoring. In four of the last six games, the Texans have held the opponent's leading scorer to single digits. Utah Tech's Ethan Potter is the only player to enter the game as the leading scorer and led the opponent in scoring that night with 23 on 1/17. Overall in WAC play, the Texans have not let the leading scorer lead the opponent in scoring in six of the 10 contests.
 
Dior Johnson and Cam McDowell are 1st and 3rd in the WAC in scoring per game in conference play. Johnson is averaging 24.8 points per game and McDowell is averaging 18.6. McDowell has played in eight WAC games this season and scored 10 or more in each. In four of his first five WAC games, he scored at least 20. Johnson has played in seven WAC games and scored in double figures in six of those games. He turned in four-straight 30+ games after his first WAC game at UTA.
 
Southern Utah has won its last three home WAC games, starting with the Texans on Jan. 15. The Thunderbirds are 3-1 at home in conference play this season. They won their first conference road game last Saturday at ACU, 79-76. Jaiden Feroah leads the team in scoring and rebounds. He also leads the WAC with 42 blocks. SUU leads the WAC with the fewest fouls per game, 16.4 ranking 90th in the NCAA. Southern Utah started WAC play 0-4, the longest WAC team to get a win. Since then, they have been 4-2. Rob Jeter is in his third season at SUU and his 17th in his career. Jeter has made previous stops at Milwaukee and Western Illinois.
 
Tarleton State close their western road trip and will play its third-consecutive game away from Stephenville with a Valentine's Day clash at Abilene Christian next Saturday. The Texans will have their second off game day of the WAC slate without a game on Thursday.