CEDAR CITY, Utah – A slow start and foul trouble from the Thunderbirds lifted the University of Nevada Las Vegas over Southern Utah for an 89-81 victory.
Randy Onwuasor and James McGee led the Thunderbirds with 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Race Parsons and Christian Musoko added 15 and 11, respectively. John Marshall led in assists with five as Onwuasor and McGee each posted two steals.
“There's no doubt in the effort,” head coach Todd Simon said. “They left everything they had, and they emptied their tanks for us.”
Thunderbird Nation nearly filled the Centrum in the #SUUvsUNLV matchup, packing in 4,249 fans.
“Shout out to the Thunderbirds. They came out and supported like they said they would, and it was amazing out there. I loved it,” McGee said of the crowd. “I loved our energy. I felt like the ground was shaking a little bit. It was a great experience.”
The Runnin' Rebels started hot with a 13-2 lead before a nine-point Thunderbird rally put SUU back in the game. UNLV pulled ahead for a 30-20 advantage before SUU outscored the Rebels 14-10 to round out the half with a 40-34 deficit to UNLV.
The Rebels extended their lead through the opening minutes of the second half before SUU battled to pull within four at 54-58 with just over 13 minutes to play. The Thunderbirds forced a three-point game at 11:12 and 10:13 before finally cutting the gap to one at 66-65 with 8:40 to play.
A seven-point Rebel rally etched UNLV with a 73-65 lead before a layup from Marshall and a three from McGee forced another three-point game with just over five minutes to play.
A trey from Parsons put the Thunderbirds within two with 3:09 to go before UNLV fired through the remaining minutes to secure the 89-81 victory.
After spending the majority of the game in foul trouble, Onwuasor fouled out with five minutes to play. Despite losing Onwuasor, the Thunderbirds played hard to the end, according to coach Simon.
“We have a team that has clearly defined that they won't quit. We have a team that showed tremendous poise in the face of adversity,” said Simon. “For an inexperienced team that hasn't played a ton together and that has a lot of youth, this is a huge step.”
The Thunderbirds hit the road this weekend as they take on Oakland in Rochester, Mich. on Saturday, Dec. 3.
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