CEDAR CITY, Utah – With 56 Bethesda fouls and 78 free throw attempts from Southern Utah alone, the Thunderbirds captured a 108-92 victory in their regular season home-opener against the Bethesda Flames in the Centrum Arena.
Exactly half of the Thunderbirds' points came from the free throw line.
“We wanted our guys to attack on every single possession. We put our head down and went, and our guys are quick,” head coach Todd Simon. “It led to a lot of free throws. I haven't quite seen those numbers in my career.”
Randy Onwuasor led the way for the Thunderbirds, shooting 6-14 from the field for 26 points. Onwuasor also led the team in free throws, draining 14 of 16. Race Parsons and Jacob Calloway added 17 and 14 points, respectively.
John Marshall led the game in assists with seven.
The Thunderbirds shot 40% from the field, 20.7% from beyond the arch, and 69.2% from the free throw line.
“As we try to evolve with this team, our competitive maturity is still in development. We kind of let off the gas, and that goes back to competitive maturity,” said Simon. “It was good for our guys to keep battling.”
Southern Utah took a quick 13-6 lead to start the game before the Flames battled back to tie the game at 16. The Thunderbirds rallied to grab their biggest lead of the game at 30-22 before heading into halftime with a 45-33 lead.
Onwuasor led the first half with 16 points as Parsons added 11. The Thunderbirds shot an impressive 45.2% from the field in the first half.
James McGee nailed back-to-back threes to launch the second half, and the Thunderbirds held a comfortable lead throughout the remainder of the game, rounding out the night with a 108-92 victory.
“Simon told us we wanted to look to attack first and get to the free throw line, and that's what we did,” Parsons said. “We got to the free throw line, and we shot 78 free throws. Now the next step is making a lot more of those free throws—starting with me.”
The Thunderbirds are back in action on Monday as they face Coastal Carolina in Las Vegas the the MGM Grand Main Event at 4:00 p.m.
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