CEDAR CITY, Utah -- After a three-game stint on the road, the Thunderbird men's basketball team (3-1) will return home to the America First Event Center this week to face off against the San Diego Christian Hawks.
Last Time Out
Last week the Thunderbirds traveled to Las Vegas to square off against UNLV, and suffered their first loss of the season to the Runnin' Rebels 76-71.
Jacob Calloway was the leading scorer for the Thunderbirds, knocking in three triples to finish with 14 points. Dwayne Morgan, who was returning to UNLV after spending the first two years of his collegiate career in Las Vegas, finished with 12 points along with two blocks. Jason Richardson finished with 10 points, while Cameron Oluyitan dished out five assists and Andre Adams pulled in eight rebounds.
Kris Clyburn led the Runnin' Rebels in scoring with 14 points, while Shakur Juiston had a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Stat Leaders
With four games in the books this season, Oluyitan and Morgan are leading the Thunderbirds in scoring averaging 14.3 points per game and 13.0 ppg respectively. Those two, along with Adams (10.0 ppg) are the three T-Birds averaging over 10 points in each contest.
Adams has been the team's leading rebounder through four contests, with 25 for an average of 6.3 rpg. Harrison Butler isn't far behind with 24 total and a 6.0 average. Oluyitan leads the team in assists with 12 this season, with Richardson (11) and Dre Marin (10) close behind.
Oluyitan leads the team with 11 steals while Morgan leads the squad with five blocks.
Opponent Preview: San Diego Christian (2-4)
The San Diego Christian Hawks will come to Cedar City following a loss to the University of Saint Katherine, where they fell in a close contest 73-72.
Jared Nyivih was the leading scorer for the Hawks in their last contest, dropping in 17 points of seven-of-nine shooting. Derek Novsek had 16 and Tristan Angelo finished with 13.
Dwayne Cosby is in his first season as head coach of the Hawks.
Words From Coach Simon
On the UNLV contest…
"We left a lot of opportunities hanging in the game that we wish we had back, but that's just part of us becoming a better basketball team is going through those, seeing the margin of victory, learning from it and doing better next time," SUU head coach Todd Simon said.
On returning home…
"It feels like it's been a long time, so it will be good to get back out in front of our home fans," he said. "This will give us a great opportunity to show everyone that we've improved since the last time our in Cedar City, and hopefully we get a great crowd out for it."
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Tip off is set for 6:30 p.m. MT inside the America First Event Center.
Live streams for all of Southern Utah's home contests and Big Sky Conference matchups will be available on the PlutoTV App and WatchBigSky.com.
A link to livestats will be available at www.suutbirds.com prior to tipoff.
KSUB 590 AM is you home for Thunderbird men's basketball home games all season long, with Legendary 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.
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.
