CEDAR CITY, Utah – Southern Utah (10-18, 7-10) used its exceptional defense Thursday night to upset Big Sky leader, Sacramento State (19-9, 13-4) 69-65, at the Centrum Arena. The Thunderbirds outshot the Hornets 61.1 percent to just 38.5 percent shooting in the second half to grab the win. SUU will play Portland State on Saturday night, a game that will close out the regular season and possibly push the Thunderbirds into the Big Sky Tournament.
During the final 3:37 of the game, the Thunderbirds dug deep to pull out the victory. SUU shot 3-3 in crunch time and guard, John Marshall knocked down a free throw to give Southern Utah a four-point lead with nine seconds to play. Sacramento State's Mikh McKinney missed a three-point shot with just over a minute to play that would have tied the game at 68-68. However, the Hornets converted just two of their final seven attempts from the field and the Thunderbirds kept their tournament hopes alive.
Sophomore, Juwan Major talked about the team's toughness and defense. “It's all about toughness,” Major said. “Coach is always preaching that it's about wanting to play defense and wanting to get a stop.” The Thunderbirds were able to do just that tonight, holding Sacramento State below their season average of 70.7 points per game.
Southern Utah came out cold on Thursday night, shooting just 3-11 in the first ten minutes of the game. Sacramento State came out ready to clinch the top seed in the Big Sky Tournament. The Hornets shot 6-9 from the field and grabbed an early 13-7 lead over the Thunderbirds and forced three SUU turnovers early.
The Thunderbirds were able to turn it around after the midway point of the first half. After the slow shooting in the early minutes, SUU shot 7-12 from the field and cut the Sacramento State lead to three with just three minutes to play in the half. Senior, Cal Hanks converted a jumper with just over four minutes to play in the half, which started a 13-5 run for the Thunderbirds and giving SUU a 37-36 lead at halftime.
Junior, A.J. Hess led the Thunderbirds with ten first half points, while freshman, James McGee contributed six points, two rebounds and two assists. Southern Utah shot an astounding 6-11 from beyond the arch in the first half and committed just four turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Although, Sacramento State shot nearly 60 percent in the first half, the Hornets were unable to maintain the lead they held for a majority of the first half. Sacramento State committed five turnovers that led to 11 SUU points and had just five assists at the break. Guard, Cody Demps led the Hornets with ten points in the first half, while also grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists.
SUU came out hot in the second half, shooting 66.7 percent from the field and stretching the lead to four just five minutes into the second half. The Thunderbirds shooting stayed hot as they converted on three straight layups and pushed their shooting percentage to over 77 percent. However, the Hornets would not go away and after a three-point shot by guard, Mikh McKinney, Sacramento State grabbed a one-point lead at the midway point of the second half.
The game took a quick defensive turn as both the Thunderbirds and the Hornets hit a dry spell. SUU scored just four points in five minutes and Sacramento State scored converted on one free throw during that stretch. A jumper by Demps with just over four minutes to play gave Sacramento State a one-point lead. But forward, Casey Oliverson converted back-to-back free throws, giving the Thunderbirds the lead back, 62-61 with 3:37 remaining.
Head Coach Nick Robinson pointed to defense as a big key to the win saying, “Our defensive effort in the second half is what kept us in the game and allowed us to make enough plays to get the win.”
SUU shot 54.3 percent from the field and turned the ball over just nine times all night. The Thunderbirds shared the ball well, racking up 16 assists on 25 field goals. Although Hess was held scoreless in the second half, McGee finished with 14 and Major finished with 13 points and played nearly flawless defense over the course of the game.
Sacramento State shot just 38.5 percent in the second half and 2-7 from the three-point line. McKinney scored 13 second half points and finished with a game-high 19 while pulling down four rebounds. Demps finished with 16 and five rebounds and also had four assists on the night.
The Thunderbirds will play Portland State at home on Saturday night in the final home game of the season. It will also be the final regular season game of the year for SUU, who will honor the only senior on the team, Cal Hanks. Tip is set for 7:05 pm MST; live stats are 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.
