CEDAR CITY, Utah -- March is officially here for the Thunderbird basketball team, and they will get play in the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament started on Tuesday when they square off against the Idaho State Bengals in Reno, Nevada.
Last Time Out
The Thunderbirds suffered a heartbreaker on Saturday night, as Idaho's Brayon Blake hit a game winning shot with just seconds to play to give the Vandals a 78-76 victory.
"We're competitive, we can play with anybody in the league, we've just been on the wrong side of the last minute of games," SUU head coach Todd Simon said.
The contest was Southern Utah's final regular season contest of the 2017-18 campaign, and the Thunderbirds finished with a 11-18 overall record and a 5-13 Big Sky record.
After trailing by as many as nine early on, the Thunderbirds went on a 13-0 run in the first half to tighten things up. The Vandals found some momentum right before the half, and took a 36-29 advantage into the break.
With 11 seconds on the clock and the game going down to the wire, McGee pulled up and drained a three for the Thunderbirds to tie the contest up at 76-76. After a missed attempt by Victor Sanders, Blake took advantage of the second opportunity and secured the game for Idaho.
Brandon Better led the scoring effort for the Thunderbirds, finishing the game with 21 points. Jamal Aytes had 17 and Dwayne Morgan had 12 before fouling out in 29 minutes of action.
Record Book Watch
A big positive note for the Thunderbirds out of their contest with the Vandals was the fact that James McGee scored 18 points in the game and became the fourth leading scorer all-time in Southern Utah basketball history. He will head to Reno with 1,285 career points.
1,285 - James McGee (ACTIVE)
1,275 - Skip Mead (1968-1970)
1,273 - Jackson Stevenett (2010-2013)
Opponent Preview: #7 Idaho State Bengals (14-15, 9-9)
The Bengals split their final two games of the regular season, knocking off Montana State 101-78 and falling to Montana 75-64.
The Bengals are led in scoring by Jared Stutzman, who averages 15.1 points per game for ISU. Brandon Boyd also carries a lot of the offensive load, scoring 14.7 ppg in 28 games and 11 starts.
The Bengals, led by former Thunderbird head coach Bill Evans, split their Big Sky Conference contests this season.
Last Time vs Idaho State
The T-Birds and Bengals squared off twice during the regular season, splitting the contests.
The most recent matchup went to the Thunderbirds, 84-80 inside the America First Event Center.
Led by a balanced scoring attack, the Thunderbirds were able to stay ahead down the stretch of the contest. Better scored 16 for the T-Birds, and Morgan finished with 15. Aytes dropped in 12, as did Christian Musoko.
Stutzman was the catalyst for the Bengals in that contest, scoring 23 points. Boyd also had a big game in Cedar City, finishing with 22 points.
Words From Coach Simon
On James McGee...
"He was great," Simon said of McGee's performance. "They got two quick fouls on him in the first half, and he came out in the second half and responded. He ran the team, he made clutch shots and did what one of the better players in SUU history does."
On preparing for ISU…
"We've already done preparations for Idaho State, and we'll dig into it a little bit more," Simon said about the matchup. "We split with them in the regular season, but they're playing well right now and playing with a lot of confidence so it's going to be a dog fight on Tuesday."
Tip Time
The game against the Bengals is scheduled for 6:35 MT on Tuesday, 5:35 local time in the Reno Events Center.
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
The game will be available to stream on WatchBigSky.com or on the PlutoTV App.
A link to live stats will be available on www.suutbirds.com prior to tip off.
All games will be broadcast over the airwaves locally on KSUB 590 AM with legendary Thunderbird athletics 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.
