SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team knocked off San Jose State out of the Mountain West Conference on Saturday night, outpacing the Spartans 66-59.

"It was our first road game of the year and we needed to grind it out," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "It was a game where we weren't making shots, not making free throws and we had a lot of guys in foul trouble early. But we were able to defend, rebound and take care of the ball which gave us a chance to win."

Cameron Oluyitan led the Thunderbirds with 15 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Dwayne Morgan was the only other T-Bird in double-digits with 13 points, finishing four-of-six from the free throw line.

The Thunderbirds outrebounded the Spartans 45-34, and finished the game with 13 assists. SUU also forced the Spartans into 19 turnovers.

The Thunderbirds jumped out to a 6-0 lead on SJSU, but a quick run from the Spartans put them on top 9-8. As the opening half wore on neither team led by more than one, and the two teams were tied at the break 31-31.

The back-and-forth affair continued into the second half, and the Spartans had a seven point lead with just over nine minutes to play. However, the Thunderbirds went on a 12-0 run to jump ahead 56-51 with 6:05 on the clock.

"We felt good, we had a timeout before that and refocused," Simon said. "We got our priorities straight and I think we settled down. When we focus on getting stops we can get out and run the floor."

The T-Birds were able to hold off the Spartans for the remainder of the contest, and move to 2-0 on the season.

Southern Utah will hit the road next weekend to take on Seattle University on November 18. That contest will tip off at 2 p.m. MT.

"We're going to have to make free throws, but we'll continue to settle down and make some more shots," Simon said.

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Season tickets and individual game tickets for the 2018-19 Season are available at www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.