CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball program improved to 4-1 on the season Thursday night inside the America First Event Center, knocking off San Diego Christian College 111-64.
The Thunderbirds got off to a somewhat sluggish start, which prompted SUU head coach Todd Simon to make a complete line change. Following the substitutions, freshman Kenton Eskridge went five-of-five from the field and sparked the Thunderbirds to a double-digit lead.
"We have so much depth, we have a lot of starters, and Kenton is getting better and better, and earned some time," Simon said. "He showed what we've been seeing in practice, he's been doing great, and it was good for him to get rewarded with a solid performance."
By the half the T-Birds had built a 24 point advantage, leading 56-32.
The Thunderbirds never let their lead dip below 21 in the second half, and pulled away with a 47-point victory.
Jacob Calloway finished the game with a career-high 20 points on six-of-nine shooting from the field.
Maizen Fausett had his first career double-double on Thursday, scoring 12 points and pulling in 14 rebounds. Eskridge finished the contest with 16 points, and Brandon Better ended the game with 15. Cameron Oluyitan was the fifth T-Bird in double-digits with 11 points on the night, shooting three-of-four from behind the three-point line.
As a team the Thunderbirds finished with 22 assists on 41 made field goals. They also out-rebounded the Hawks 53-41.
SUU forced San Diego Christian into 18 turnovers.
The Thunderbirds will head out on the road next to take on Long Beach State (December 5) and Central Michigan (December 8).
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.
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.
Plays of the Game
