CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Thunderbird men's basketball team will hit the road for the third-consecutive time this Friday as they'll take on the Runnin' Rebels of UNLV on Friday night inside the Thomas & Mack Center.
Last Time Out
Led by 15 points from both Cameron Oluyitan and Andre Adams, the Thunderbirds improved to 3-0 on the season last weekend when they knocked off the Seattle Redhawks 73-70.
Oluyitan shot four-of-four from the free throw line and Adams hit six shots from the field to pace the Thunderbird offense. Adams also led the team with eight rebounds, along with Harrison Butler who finished with the same number.
Brandon Better had 13 points for the T-Birds coming off the bench. He played just 13 total minutes, but hit five-of-five from the free throw line.
3-0
For the first time since the program moved to Division I men's basketball, the Thunderbirds have started the 2018-19 regular season 3-0.
The last time the T-Birds had started a season 2-0 was the 2006-07 season. Any further wins the team is able to pick up would increase the best start in school history.
Opponent Preview: UNLV (3-1)
The Runnin' Rebels will welcome the Thunderbirds to Las Vegas with a 3-1 record, losing their season opener to Loyola Marymount before knocking off three straight opponents. UNLV's most recent victory came against Pacific 96-70.
Through two contests Cheikh Mbacke Diong and Shakur Juiston have led the Runnin' Rebels in scoring, averaging 7 ppg and 6.5 ppg respectively. The Rebels are an experienced bunch, starting three seniors in each of their four contests.
Marvin Menzies is in his second season as head coach of UNLV after taking the job in April of 2016. He was the head coach of New Mexico State for nine seasons before heading to Las Vegas.
Familiar Foes
When it comes to the Thunderbirds and the Rebels, there is plenty of familiarity between the programs.
SUU head coach Todd Simon spent three seasons with the Rebels, and was named interim head coach by the program to close out the 2015-16 campaign. Simon joined the Thunderbirds prior to the 2016-17 season. Simon also served as an assistant from 2004-06 before working at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas.
Thunderbird Dwayne Morgan also spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career with UNLV, appearing in all 33 games as a freshman and averaging 5.5 ppg and 4.7 rpg in 27 games as a sophomore, starting in 22 of those contests.
The Thunderbirds and Rebels have squared off 11 times, with UNLV securing a victory in all 11 contests. The two teams have faced off for the last five seasons. The closest game the two teams have played was during the 2016-17 season, where UNLV beat SUU 89-81.
Words From Coach Simon
On the 3-0 start…
"Those type of tangible rewards are great for our team to feel like the hard work is paying off," he said. "It validates what we're trying to build here and the direction the program is going. To win any road game is very difficult, but we've had back-to-back against high quality opponents on their floors which further validates what we're trying to do."
On UNLV…
"They're big, long and they have good quality depth," he said. "They don't lose very many at Thomas & Mack, so that's going to be a tall task for us."
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Tip off is set for 8 p.m. MT in Las Vegas.
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.
