CEDAR CITY, Utah - Senior guard Ryan Brimley's 16 points led Southern Utah
University to a 68-51 victory over visiting Oklahoma Panhandle State University
Tuesday evening.
The Thunderbirds (3-7) took advantage of
their length most of the night, scoring 30 points from inside the paint,
blocking 13 shots and turning 17 Oklahoma Panhandle State (2-8) turnovers into
21 points. The Thunderbirds also finished with 18 assists, two off their
season-high led by junior point guard Ray Jones Jr. who dished out six assists.
"I thought it was a great effort by a number
of players tonight and it was good team win for us," commented head coach Roger
Reid who saw 11 of his players register a point. "I really liked how we used
our defense to get things going for us, forcing some turnovers and scoring
inside the paint was very nice to see."
Sophomore guard Jordan Weirick added 10
points and sophomore center Matt Hodgson came off the bench to grab a team-high
10 rebounds and block two shots. Freshman Kyle Davis used his 6-8 frame to
block four shots for the Thunderbirds who snapped a three-game losing skid with
the win.
"Matt came off the bench and played very well
tonight. He and Kyle affected a lot of shots tonight. It was also good to see Ryan
shoot the ball well again tonight who continues to gain confidence and emerge
as a weapon for us."
The Thunderbirds overcame a sluggish opening
minutes by using a 20-6 run to pull away from the Aggies. The game was tied at
7-7 in the opening minutes before Brimley sparked the big run with a couple layups,
going on to finish the half with 10 points.
Southern Utah forced Oklahoma Panhandle State
into 12 turnovers, scoring 12 points off those miscues as 10 Thunderbirds
recorded baskets to give SUU a 35-21 lead at the break.
The Thunderbirds quickly pulled away to start
the second half as Weirick hit a jumper and followed that with a long three
from the left wing to give SUU a 40-22 lead.
Minutes later, back-to-back layups by junior
forward Matt Massey and Jones Jr. gave the Thunderbirds their largest lead of
the game, 45-24 at the 16:23 mark.
The Aggies would close the SUU lead to 10
around the 10:00 minute mark before Brimley hit a three and long two on consecutive
trips for the Thunderbirds, pushing the lead back above 10. Junior forward
Ramell Taylor's soaring one-handed dunk in the final seconds was the
exclamation point on the SUU victory.
Southern Utah finished the game shooting 40%,
holding the OPSU to 29% shooting and posting a 46-40 rebound advantage. Marcale
Marshall led the Aggies with 19 points.
The Thunderbirds hit the road for their next
two, playing at UNLV on Saturday and UC Davis next Tuesday.
