Moscow, Idaho - It took every second of the game and an overtime period, but the Thunderbirds were able to pull out a hard fought victory on Saturday night against the Idaho Vandals 85–83.
With a minute and a half left to play in overtime the score was all knotted up when the Vandals turned the ball over and SUU guard John Marshall was sent to the free throw line and hit two, and after another stop forward Casey Oliverson hit a long jumper to put the T-Birds up by four giving them some breathing room. All of which happened after the Vandals jumped out to a six point lead about a minute into overtime and the Thunderbirds fought all the way back.
On SUU's next possession Marshall got a fast break layup to put the T-Birds up six, which gave them enough of a cushion to hold on for the victory.
The Vandals had a last stitch effort at the free throw line with Chad Sherwood getting three attempts with Idaho down three, but he missed the first one to put the game in the books.
"What a great college basketball game tonight,” SUU head coach Nick Robinson said after the contest. "So proud of our team's effort, toughness, and togetherness tonight on the road versus a very good Idaho basketball team."
Trey Kennedy led the Thunderbirds in scoring with 18 points, aided by eight points from the free throw line. Race Parsons had 15 for SUU and James McGee had 14.
The Thunderbirds shot 51.9 percent from the field and hit 21-of-29 shots from the charity stripe.
Victor Sanders led all scorers with 29 points. 33 of the Vandals points on Saturday night came from the free throw line.
The Thunderbirds came out of the gate hitting shots and held the lead for the majority of the first half. The Vandals were successful not letting the game slip away, as the biggest lead the T-Birds were able to build was six.
SUU took a 36–33 lead into the halftime break.
The game continued to be close as the second half started and stayed that way throughout.
With one minute left in regulation the T-Birds were up by one and a Trey Kennedy jumper put the T-Birds up by three. However, the T-Birds fouled on a three-point attempt and the Vandals were able to hit all three to tie the game up and send it to overtime.
Robinson said he was impressed with how both teams played on Saturday night.
"From the start to the final buzzer, both teams competed at a high level and we were fortunate to be ahead at the end," he said.
The victory leaves the T-Birds with a 4–11 record and a 2–3 Big Sky Conference record.
The Thunderbirds will be back at home next week for games against Northern Colorado on Thursday and North Dakota on Saturday.
