CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team will hit the road this weekend for a matchup with the San Jose State Spartans at 7 p.m. MT on Saturday night. This will be SUU's first road game of the 2018-19 campaign.

Last Time Out

The Thunderbirds moved to 1-0 on the season as they knocked off West Coast Baptist College 109-63 in their regular season opener.

Dwayne Morgan led the charge for the T-Birds, scoring 20 points. Cameron Oluyitan dropped in 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting as well. Freshmen Maizen Fausett and Harrison Butler had 16 and 15 points respectively.

As a team the Thunderbirds had 28 assists on 43 made field goals, and forced 29 turnovers.

Opponent Preview: San Jose State

The San Jose State Spartans will enter this season with a revamped squad, as they have a total of nine newcomers. The team added four Junior College transfers and five freshmen. In total, SJSU brought back only five lettermen from last season's team.

The Spartans are 1-0 this season with a victory over Life Pacific, who the Thunderbirds faced off against in an exhibition competition. SJSU won 89-72, while SUU knocked off the Warriors 96-53. Brae Ivey was the leading scorer for the Spartans, totaling 18 points.

They finished last season with a 4-26 overall record and a 1-16 mark in the Mountain West Conference.

Spartan head coach Jean Prioleau is entering his second season with the program.

Last Time vs San Jose State

When the T-Birds and Spartans faced off in 2017 it was Southern Utah that came out on top, winning 81-69 inside the America First Event Center.

Former Thunderbird Jadon Cohee led the team with 19 points, closely followed by Brandon Better who dropped in 15. Christian Musoko was the third T-Bird in double-figures with 10 points. Ivan Madunic led the team with eight rebounds and seven points.

Series History

The Thunderbirds and Spartans have faced off twice all-time, once in 2016 and again in 2017. The all-time series between the two teams is split with the Spartans winning in 2016 and SUU returning the favor in 2017.

Words From The T-Birds

Todd Simon on San Jose State…

"They're all brand new," he said. "It's going to be a lot of unfamiliar faces from what we've seen the last two years in their lineup. … They're a new look, we're a new look, so it's going to be a completely different game than the last two years we've played each other."  

Dwayne Morgan on the team's defensive pressure...

"Defense is an effort thing, that's what coach Simon preaches to us," he said. "We know we're talented on the offensive end, so we've going to have to win games on the defensive end. That's the way we're trying to come together as a team because the last two years that hasn't been SUU's identity."

Harrison Butler on his first collegiate road trip...

"I'm pretty excited," he said. "I'm always a man that likes to hear what the crowd has to say, so it should be pretty fun."

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.