CEDAR CITY, Utah -- With just four home games left this season, the Thunderbird men's basketball team (8-12, 2-7 Big Sky) is set for matchups with in-state rival Weber State and Idaho State this weekend.

Last Time Out

The Thunderbirds are coming off a less than ideal weekend, as they fell to both the Montana Grizzlies and the Montana State Bobcats.

The Griz were able to top the T-Birds 71-47 behind big games from Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie, who both finished with over 20 points.

For the second time this season the Thunderbirds and Bobcats played a game that went right down to the wire, and for the second time Montana State was able to pull away with a victory. Tyler Hall finished the contest with 23 points, shooting a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line, to secure the victory for Montana State.

Top Tier Transfer

Despite not being able to pull out a victory, Thunderbird senior Jamal Aytes had a very strong showing in both contests in the state of Montana.

Against the Grizzlies, Aytes finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. He finished the game 3-of-4 from the free throw line and also picked up a block in the contest. He was the only T-Bird in double-digit scoring in the contest.

Aytes followed up that performance with another big one, dropping 22 points on the Montana State Bobcats and pulling in eight rebounds. Aytes finished 11-of-15 from the field, and finished the weekend shooting 68 percent from the field.

Opponent Preview: Weber State Wildcats (13-7, 6-2 Big Sky)

The Wildcats of Weber State will come to Cedar City riding a three game winning streak, with victories over Sacramento State, Portland State and Idaho State.

In WSU's most recent victory over the Bengals of Idaho State, Jerrick Harding led the offensive output for Weber with 22 points. Harding finished 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Harding has led Weber State in scoring all season, sitting with an average of 21.6 ppg. That number also leads the Big Sky Conference. He also leads the Wildcats in minutes played with 625.

Opponent Preview: Idaho State Bengals (9-10, 4-4 Big Sky)

After starting Big Sky Conference play 3-0, the Idaho State Bengals have gone 1-4 and will be looking to pick up a victory over Northern Arizona before making their way to Cedar City.

Despite the loss in their last contest against Weber State, ISU's Jared Stutzman finished with 31 points shooting 11-of-16 from the field in the contest. Stutzman is the league leader in steals and currently sits second in the Big Sky in field goal percentage.

Big Sky At A Glance

Another weekend came and went in the Big Sky Conference, and the Montana Grizzlies stayed undefeated. The Griz moved to 9-0 with victories over Southern Utah and Montana. They currently sit at 16-5 on the season.

Three different teams in the league are all sitting at six wins, with Weber State, Idaho and Eastern Washington all with six marks in the win column. Weber State sits ahead of the other two, however, with just two losses compared to Idaho's and EWU's three.  

Words From Coach Simon

On the positives from last weekend he wants to see carry over…

"We're defending now, and if we can continue to defend but then also make shots like we did for the first 15 games, then we're going to be really tough to cover," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "We're defending and we're rebounding, now we've got to play with a renewed vigor on offense and I feel like we'll have the whole package."

On James McGee moving up to eighth on the all-time scoring list…

"James is a spectacular guy that you want to be around," Simon said. "He's good for our program, he's got a good voice for his teammates and he's a pleasure to coach because he does everything right."

On what the team can take away from the last matchup against Weber...

"We hope to learn from our mistakes," he said.. "There were a lot of times where we felt like we could have done things better. Played with a better tempo, a better pace, and be a little more aggressive offensively and defensively. So hopefully watching the film and learning from those things we'll be better this time around."

On how to game plan for Jerrick Harding…

"He's a tough cover in our league," Simon said. "He can score at all three levels, and for us it can't be one guy, it's got to be all five. All five have got to focus when he has the ball, and that's where it's going to start is us being a good team defensively."

On how they're getting ready for Idaho State...

"We've got to take care of the ball," he said. "Up there we didn't give ourselves a chance to win by our amount of turnovers, so we've got to clean that up and tweak a couple things that we've seen on film. We expect it will be a good, competitive game."

Promotions

Thursday: The game against Weber State will be a Rivalry Red Out, and everyone in attendance is encouraged to wear red. There will be a Fan Fest in the Sharwan Smith Student Center at 5 p.m. and the Utah Jazz Dunk Team will perform at halftime. Admission is FREE for children 12 years old or younger. Rally Towels will also be given out to the first 500 fans in attendance.

Saturday: The game against Idaho State will be Alumni Night, where a number of individuals will be honored by the Coaching Factory at halftime.  

Tip Time

Thursday's contest against Weber State will tip off at 6:30 p.m. MT, while Saturday's game with Idaho State will be played at 12:30 p.m. MT.

Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along

SUU's contests against Weber State and Idaho State will stream live on the PlutoTV App and online at WatchBigSky.com.

A link to live stats will be provided on www.suutbirds.com prior to tip off.

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

Single game tickets for the 2017-18 SUU men's basketball campaign can be purchased at www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.   

Road To Reno

Tickets for the Big Sky Men's and Women's Basketball Championships can be purchased at www.RoadtoReno.com.