CEDAR CITY, Utah - With a pair of wins under their belt the Thunderbird men's basketball team will head out on the road for a matchup with the Rebels of UNLV on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Last Time Out
Senior James McGee was the story for the Thunderbirds in their 85-68 victory over the Redhawks from Benedictine at Mesa on Tuesday. He finished 6-of-6 from behind the three-point line on Tuesday, and scored 25 points to propel the Thunderbirds to their second-straight win at home.
Jamal Aytes also had a big game for the T-Birds, scoring 19 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. Brandon Better and Dre Marin both went over double figures when it comes to scoring, putting in 13 and 12 respectively.
McGee For Three
With his performance on Tuesday, McGee moved into rare company in terms of the Big Sky Conference. When he knocked down his 249th career triple, he moved into ninth place all time in the Big Sky Conference in that category.
Coming into the season McGee was 14th on the list, and has now moved into ninth place.
The all-time record in the Big Sky Conference is held by Weber State's Jeremy Senglin, who made 345 total in his career as a Wildcat. This season, McGee has passed current Portland Trailblazer Damian Lillard in the same category.
Old Stomping Grounds
This weekend SUU head coach Todd Simon will return to the university he was at before making the move to Southern Utah, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Simon spent three seasons with UNLV, and in his final season took over as interim head coach when the department decided to part ways with then head coach Dave Rice. Simon was at the helm for 17 contests in Las Vegas.
Simon is no stranger to the Las Vegas area in general, as he spent seven seasons at Findlay Prep where he led the school to a 35-1 record in his lone season as head coach.
Words From The T-Birds
James McGee on the importance of a good start…..
"This UNLV team's really good and really big, so they're going to hit us quick and we just need to hit them harder," McGee said. "We just need a better start than we had these last couple games."
Coach Simon on what he saw from Jamal Aytes on Tuesday…..
"He did a great job, he's so strong down there and he had great spurts," Simon said. "He's so good on the offensive glass, you challenge guys to offensive rebound and we got 21 today and he got seven. I think he responded to what we asked of him and had a great game."
Opponent Preview: UNLV Runnin' Rebels
After opening their regular season with a victory over Florida A&M, the Rebels of UNLV have spent their time competing in tournaments in Las Vegas.
The Rebels took on a foe the Thunderbirds will see come Big Sky Conference play, as they knocked off the Eagles of Eastern Washington 91-76. Kris Clyburn led the offensive attack for UNLV in that contest, dropping in 19 points. Brandon McCoy dropped in 17 and Jovan Mooring scored 15 to lead the offensive charge for UNLV against the Big Sky Opponent.
This week UNLV competed in the MGM Resorts Main Event, taking on Rice and Utah and knocking off both teams in the process.
UNLV is a young team loaded with talent. They have eight underclassmen on their roster, with five freshmen in that group. With second-year head coach Marvin Menzies at the helm, the Rebels will look to make some noise in the Mountain West Conference this season. This will be the third and final MWC team the T-Birds will play this season, and they are currently 1-1 against teams from the league.
Through five games Brandon McCoy is the offensive leader for the Rebels, averaging 21.2 points per contest so far this season.
Tip Time
Start time at the Thomas & Mack Center is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT.
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Links to both a live stream of the contest and live stats will be available on www.unlvrebels.com prior to tipoff on Saturday.
All games will be available over the airwaves locally on KSUB 590 AM with legendary Thunderbird athletics broadcaster Art Challis on the call.
Follow Us
Follow the Thunderbirds all season @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Basketball page on Facebook.
Read all about the Thunderbirds on www.suutbirds.com.
Ticket Information
Season tickets for the 2017-18 SUU men's basketball campaign can be purchased at tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.
