CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Centrum Arena was good to the Thunderbirds on Thursday night as Southern Utah (4-11, 1-3) beat Idaho State (4-13, 1-4), 71-67. It was SUU's first game at home since December 6, ending an eight game road trip. The win was SUU's fourth overall of the season but just the first in conference play.
After leading a majority of the second half, SUU fell behind 60-61 with four minutes to play. However, down the stretch the Thunderbirds shot 3-3 and added four free throws to beat the Bengals. AJ Hess made one of two free throws to tie the game at 61 and drained a three-point shot 50 seconds later to give SUU a 64-61 lead; a lead they would not surrender.
“Our team defense was really good throughout the night. We did a great job of rebounding,” said Head Coach Nick Robinson. “We had four guys in double digits tonight and for our basketball team I am willing to take that every single night.”
SUU came out strong, shooting 46.4 percent from the field while holding Idaho State to 40.7 percent. Casey Oliverson contributed 13 points and four rebounds in the first half, while Travon Langston's first half consisted of three offensive rebounds, four total, and three assists. The Thunderbirds were leading the rebound battle at the half 19-15 and 5-4 on the offensive glass. SUU led for over 17 of the 20 first half minutes and took a 33-31 lead into the half.
The ball moved well for the Thunderbirds in the first half, where SUU accumulated seven assists, which nears its season average of ten assists per game. Junior forward, Christian Thompson had two of the three SUU blocks in the first half and hit a three-pointer to extend the Thunderbird lead to five with just under nine minutes to play in the first half.
SUU had a rough start to the second half, but after about six minutes the Thunderbirds found their rhythm. After falling behind 41-42 SUU regained its composure and the teams traded baskets for a good part of the second half. On four different occasions the game was tied with less than nine minutes to play.
After being held to only to two points in the first half, Hess found his shot, adding 12 points in the second half. Oliverson continued his hot shooting in the second half, where he went 2-2 from the field and was perfect from the free throw line in crunch time. Langston came alive from the field in the second half where he scored ten points of his own.
The Thunderbirds as a team shot an astounding 57.1 percent from the field in the second half and forced six Idaho State turnovers. The exceptional ball movement continued in the second half for the Thunderbirds, who added eight more assists to bring their total to 15 for the game, well above their season average.
“We made the right plays when we needed to,” Oliverson said. “We lost the rebound total by one, but we got rebounds when we needed to.”
Oliverson ended 8-9 shooting from the field, totaling 19 points, 8 rebounds and a block. Junior, Hess finished with 14 points, five rebounds and a steal, while junior guard, Langston compiled 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal. Sophomore guard, Trey Kennedy finished with 11 points and two steals in 29 minutes of play, he also converted two critical free throws that pushed SUU's lead to three with 2:09 to play in the game.
Although the Bengals won the rebound battle 30-29, the Thunderbirds showed much improvement from previous games. Idaho State guard, Chris Hansen shot 8-16 from the field and added four free throws, he finished with 23 points for the Bengals. Marcus Bradley came off the bench for ISU and added 13 points and seven rebounds. SUU forced 12 Idaho State turnovers that lead to 12 points for the Thunderbirds. SUU also was able to hold the Bengals to six second-chance points, all of which came in the second half.
The Thunderbirds will look to defend home court again on Saturday when Weber State comes to the Centrum. The game is set to tip at 7:05 pm, Saturday night.
