COLLEGE

Suttle played college basketball at Pepperdine, As a freshman in 1979–80 he joined Jim Harrick’s first Waves team in the West Coast Athletic Conference and played 20 games as Pepperdine finished 17–11 overall and 9–7 in conference play, good for a tie for fifth place and an NIT appearance, while he averaged 6.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game and shot 50.5 percent from the field and 78.3 percent from the free throw line.

As a sophomore in 1980–81, he broke into a much bigger role and played 28 games for a Pepperdine team that went 16–12 overall and tied for first in the WCAC with an 11–3 conference mark, and he averaged 15.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 54.5 percent from the field and 78.8 percent from the line.

As a junior in 1981–82, Suttle played 28 games and started all 28, logged 929 minutes at 33.2 minutes per game, averaged 16.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.1 blocks per game, shot 53.0 percent from the field and 81.3 percent from the free throw line, and scored 473 points with 186 field goals as Pepperdine finished 22–7 overall and 14–0 in WCAC play to win the regular-season title.

Pepperdine then reached the 1982 NCAA tournament, where the Waves beat Pittsburgh in the opening round before losing to Oregon State in the second round.

As a senior in 1982–83, Suttle played 29 games and started all 29, scored 679 points at 23.4 points per game, averaged 2.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.1 steals, shot 53.5 percent from the field and 83.5 percent from the foul line, and led Pepperdine to a 20–9 overall record and a 10–2 mark in the WCAC for another regular-season conference title and another NCAA tournament berth.

His 1982–83 scoring average ranked third in Pepperdine single-season history and 14th nationally, and he earned Associated Press All-America honorable mention while sharing West Coast Conference player of the year honours with Orlando Phillips, as head coach Jim Harrick also took conference coach of the year honours that season.

Suttle played for the Waves from 1979 to 1983 and was a two-time West Coast Conference all-conference pick and the 1983 co-player of the year with teammate Orlando Phillips. While at Pepperdine, Suttle led the Waves to back to back NCAA tournament appearances in 1982 and 1983. Suttle left Pepperdine as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,702 points.

One of the low points in his college career took place in the 1983 NCAA tournament. Pepperdine, the eleven seed in the West Region, faced North Carolina State in the first round and had been leading by six points in overtime.

With twenty nine seconds left, Suttle was fouled and went to the free throw line for a one-and-one. He missed the first shot, enabling a change of possession with the Waves still leading by four. Suttle was fouled again on the inbound play and missed again, and North Carolina State would eventually score again on their own missed one-and-one the very next time they had the ball. The game went to a second overtime, where Suttle fouled out of the game and North Carolina State won on their road to the national championship.

In that double-overtime NCAA loss to North Carolina State, Suttle played 47 minutes and finished with 16 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds, while Bill Sadler scored 19 points for Pepperdine.

His best-known single-game scoring performances at Pepperdine included 41 points against Loyola Marymount on February 12, 1983, 33 points against Loyola Marymount on March 10, 1983, 32 points against Saint Mary’s on February 5, 1983, and 31 points against both UC Irvine on December 4, 1982 and Seattle Pacific on December 10, 1982.

He also produced one of the best single-game shooting performances in Pepperdine history when he went 15-for-20 from the field against Loyola Marymount on February 12, 1983 for a .750 field-goal percentage.

Across four seasons, Suttle played 105 games, started 57, logged 2,997 minutes, made 678 field goals on 1,269 attempts for 53.4 percent shooting, scored 1,701 points, handed out 372 assists, grabbed 242 rebounds, averaged 16.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, and shot 81.4 percent from the free throw line.

He finished his Pepperdine career ranked third in school history in total points with 1,701, fourth in career field goals made with 677, seventh in field-goal attempts with 1,271, eighth in career assists with 372, and he stood as Pepperdine’s all-time leader in points, field goals made, assists, steals and games played when his college career ended.