CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Following a big opening week of competition, the Thunderbird men's basketball team will head to the Pacific Northwest this weekend for a matchup against Seattle University.

Last Time Out

In their last contest the Thunderbirds went on the road and knocked off the San Jose State Spartans 66-59. Led by 15 points from Cameron Oluyitan and 13 from Dwayne Morgan, the Thunderbirds were able to overcome early foul trouble and a less than ideal shooting percentage from the free throw line.

Recent Accomplishments

SUU's victory over San Jose State was the first time the T-Birds had beaten a team from the Mountain West Conference on the road since 2006, when they knocked off the University of Utah.

SUU's 2-0 start to the season is also the first time the program has accomplished that since the 2006-07 season. The Thunderbirds are chasing the team's first 3-0 start since they transitioned to Division I basketball.  

Big Sky POTW

Oluyitan was named Big Sky Men's Basketball Player of the Week for his performance in the team's first two contests.

Oluyitan dropped in 19 points on West Coast Baptist and 15 more against San Jose State to average 17 for the opening week. He also totaled seven steals, two blocks, six assists and eight rebounds in the two contests. He finished the weekend shooting 58 percent from the field.   

This is his first season competing for the Thunderbirds since transferring from Boise State.

The last Thunderbird men's basketball player to be named Player of the Week was Randy Onwuasor on January 2, 2017.

Opponent Preview: Seattle

The Redhawks of Seattle U will host the Thunderbirds coming off a massive win over the Washington State Cougars, 78-69. Terrell Brown led the Redhawks in scoring against the Cougars coming off the bench, dropping in 21 points of six-of-nine shooting. He was also 9-of-11 from the free throw line. Delante Jones had 15 points and Matej Kavas had 14 as starters for Seattle U.

The victory over Wazzu moved the Redhawks to 3-1 on the season, and 3-0 at home.

Through four contests, Myles Carter is leading the team in scoring with a 15.8 ppg average.

Jim Hayford is in his second season with the Redhawks, and led the team to a 20-14 record in 2017-18. Hayford was formerly the head coach of Eastern Washington.

Team Connections

Thunderbird fans will know Seattle U assistant coach Nick Robinson very well, as Robinson served as the head coach at Southern Utah University from 2012-16. Robinson compiled 29 victories as the head coach at SUU, with an overall record of 29-90.

Words From Coach Simon

On the victory over SJSU...

"We won on the defensive end, which is what we want to do on the road particularly," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "Obviously they're a pretty good rebounding team, and being up 11 in that category was a key to the game and we only allowed five threes, which was very important to us. We've got to obviously foul a little less, but it was a big game for us."   

On Oluyitan winning Big Sky Player of the Week…

"Cam's become consistent, he's a guy we can count on," he said. "He brings it on both ends of the floor, and he's just solid."

On Seattle…

"They're a very good team," he said. "They won 20 games last year, they're a postseason team, the game's on their home floor, they've got transfers now that are eligible that are very good. They're very talented, they'll content for their league, so they'll be a great road test for us."   

Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along

A link to a livestream, live stats and a radio broadcast of Saturday's contest are available on www.suutbirds.com.

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.

Tickets

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.