Men's Basketball 2/13/2015 4:50:00 AM SUU Strategic Communication

SNAPPED! So. Utah Breaks Out of Slump, beats Weber State 65-56

OGDEN, Utah – Southern Utah used hot three-point shooting to snap a 20-game road losing streak against Big Sky Opponents. The Thunderbirds (6-16, 3-8) shot nearly 50 percent from three-point against Weber State (10-13, 5-7) and downed the Wildcats, 65-56 in Ogden. The SUU win completed a season sweep of their in-state rival and also ended a season long, five-game losing streak.

After leading by as many as 12 points, the Thunderbirds could not seem to close-out the feisty Wildcats, as Weber State showed no quit in the final minutes. After converting an and-one lay-up with two minutes to play, SUU led by nine, but a three-point shot by Richaud Gittens brought the game back to within six. Weber State's final attempt at a comeback came with 1:06 left when the Wildcats used an and-one shot to pull within three points. However, the Thunderbirds converted critical free throws down the stretch to seal a much-needed victory.

Junior forward, Casey Oliverson stated the importance of the road win and credited the win to the team's defensive performance. “We, as a team, played great defense together. I don't think we could have done it better,” Oliverson said.

The Thunderbirds started strong on both the offensive and defensive end. Four minutes into the game Weber State was shooting 0-4 from the field with just one point, while SUU was shooting 5-6, including two three-pointers as the Thunderbirds led 12-1 early. After the hot start, SUU lost its rhythm, missing their next five shots and the Wildcats used six Thunderbirds turnovers to grab a 14-12 lead midway through the first half.

The Wildcats went on a 21-4 run before SUU broke its 2-12 shooting drought with a basket by Oliverson. Junior guard, Travon Langston converted one of two free throws cutting the Weber lead to three with five minutes to play in the first half. Freshman forward, Tyler Rawson converted back-to-back three-point jumpers and gave the Thunderbirds the lead at 25-24 and the SUU defense held the Wildcats to 1-12 shooting over the final seven minutes as the Thunderbirds entered the half leading 30-28.

After committing six turnovers in as many minutes, Southern Utah was able to regain its composure and control the ball for the remainder of the first half. Weber State scored 11 points off of seven SUU turnovers, but the solid Thunderbirds' defense held the Wildcats to just 29 percent shooting in the first half. SUU's Rawson led all scorers at halftime with eight points, while guard, Trey Kennedy added seven points, four rebounds and two assists.

The Thunderbirds shot 42.9 percent in the first half, including 5-9 from beyond the arch. However, free throws continued to give Weber State points, as the Wildcats converted 13-17 in the first half, compared to just 1-2 for SUU. Gittens led Weber State in points with seven in the half, but also added six rebounds and two assists. The Thunderbirds continued to badger guard, Jeremy Senglin and forward, Joel Bolomboy, who combined to shoot 1-8 for three points.

SUU came out firing in the second half and extended its lead to 42-33 with 14 minutes to play. The Thunderbirds defense continued to stifle Weber State, as the Wildcats suffered a 2-11 shooting drought and SUU ran its lead to 11, midway through the second half. The three-point shot continued to fall for the Thunderbirds, who pushed its lead to 12 points with just over seven minutes to play.

Weber State refused to concede, as the Wildcats hit a big three-point shot with just over six minutes to play, cutting the SUU lead to single digits. However, the Thunderbirds would not be denied. SUU had an answer for every basket Weber scored and the Thunderbirds were able to maintain their lead down the stretch.

Head Coach Nick Robinson also credited the team defense, saying, “Our team defense tonight really was the key for this ball game. We were extremely confident defensively, executed well and got stops early.”

Southern Utah held Weber State to just 27.6 percent shooting, 5-26 from three and kept Bolomboy and Senglin in check all night. The Weber State duo finished 3-17 with just nine points. The Thunderbirds meanwhile, shot 49 percent form the field and 7-15 from three.

The Thunderbirds had four different players in double figures as Hess, Oliverson, Kennedy and Rawson combined for 44 points. Kennedy finished with ten points, six rebounds and three assists, while Oliverson was a rebound shy of recording a double-double; he finished with nine.

Southern Utah will travel to Pocatello to play Idaho State on Saturday night. Tip is set for 7:05 p.m. MST with live stats online at suutbirds.com. Live audio can be heard online as well as the radio on KSUB 590 AM. Live video can be seen for every home game at watchbigsky.com or on the Watch Big Sky app.

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