MANHATTEN, Kan. – Nov. 14 – Friday night saw the opening of the SUU men's basketball season as they took on the Wildcats of Kansas State. The Thunderbirds fought hard all night but eventually would fall to the Wildcats, 98-68.
SUU came out of the gates looking to prove they belong with anyone. The energy was high and the shots were falling early, especially for junior guard A.J. Hess. Hess started to game making four out of his first six 3-pointers for 12 quick points and the Thunderbirds were tied with the Wildcats at 24. Foul trouble for Hess would sideline him for most of the rest of the first half.
Kansas State would then go on a 15-5 run to push their lead to ten by the four-minute media timeout in the first half. Free throws again playing a big role in the game for SUU as Kansas State made 11 more free throws then did the Thunderbirds at that point. Trey Kennedy would knock down a three and John Marshall would add two free throws to close out the half with Kansas State up 44-36.
SUU outrebounded the Wildcats in the first half, 16-14, gaining the advantage on the offensive end. The Thunderbirds shot 45.8 percent field goal percentage compared to Kansas State's 50%. However, SUU outshot the Wildcats from three, 50 percent to 36.4 percent. The big difference in the first half coming at the free throw line where the Wildcats shot 75.0 percent compared to SUU's 57.1 percent.
The Thunderbirds started the second half a little flat and Kansas State took full advantage, outscoring SUU 29-9 in the first 10 minutes. Hess again picked up early fouls and went to the bench, making it hard for the Thunderbirds to find any offense. Kansas State would finish the game strong, dropping the Thunderbirds to 0-1 on the season.
The Thunderbirds shot just 36 percent in the second half and 25 percent from three. SUU improved at the free throw line, hitting 66.7 percent and bringing their game average up to 62.5 percent. Kansas State could not miss in the second half, shooting 66.7 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from three.
A.J. Hess finished as the high-point man for the Thunderbirds with 16, despite foul trouble. John Marshall stood out, playing 23 minutes he had six assists and just two turnovers. He also had three steals to go along with seven points, all from the free throw line. Tyler Rawson had six rebounds on the night, the most of any Thunderbird. Race Parsons and Cal Hanks were right behind him, both pulling down five rebounds.
The Thunderbirds will now head to Oxford, Ohio where they will face the RedHawks of Miami (Ohio) University on Sunday at noon. Catch the live stats and audio at suutbirds.com
