ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Southern Utah Thunderbirds fell to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Saturday, Dec. 3, in a 78-68 loss. 

"Oakland is an outstanding team that will contend for their league. I was pleased that we fought until the end," head coach Todd Simon said. "We struggled to have shots fall for a couple stretches but found a way to compete. This tough road test will pay dividends in the future."

Despite outscoring Oakland 44-40 in the second half, the Grizzles' 14-point halftime lead guided them to victory, extending their record to 8-1 and dropping SUU's to 2-6. 

Randy Onwuasor led the Thunderbirds in the loss with 21 points. James McGee and Ivan Madunic added 13 points each. Madunic posted two blocks in the loss as Onwuasor, John Marshall, and Jacob Calloway each tacked up three assists. 

Southern Utah shot just 29% from the field in the first half before improving to 34.3% on the game. Oakland shot 44.9%. 

Onwuasor guided the Thunderbirds to a quick 7-4 lead before a 13-3 Oakland rally put the Grizzlies in the lead at 17-10. SUU pulled within five at 21-26 before Oakland stretched their lead to 38-14 at halftime. 

The Grizzlies extended their lead to 59-35 with just over 12 minutes to play. 

With 3:24 remaining, Oakland led 70-50 before the Thunderbirds exploded in the final minutes, chalking up 18 points to the Grizzlies' eight, rounding out the game with a 78-68 loss. 

The Thunderbirds are back in action on the road next week, facing Loyola Marymount on Thursday, Dec. 8, and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Dec. 10. 

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