CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Coming off a road victory against in-state rival Weber State, the Thunderbird men's basketball team is set to host another rival school on Saturday as the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona will make their way to the America First Event Center.
Last Time Out
The Thunderbirds secured one of the biggest victories of Todd Simon's tenure as head coach last weekend, as they knocked off the Weber State Wildcats 90-82 in Ogden.
The contest went to overtime and featured 22 lead changes.
A trio of Thunderbirds led the scoring effort, as Andre Adams, Dre Marin and Cameron Oluyitan all finished the contest with 18 points. That number tied a career high for both Adams and Marin. Adams also had a double-double in the contest securing 11 rebounds.
SUU's victory snapped a six-game losing streak to the Wildcats and was the team's first victory in Ogden since 2015.
Opponent Preview: Northern Arizona (4-10, 2-2 Big Sky)
After a rough non-conference season, the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona have found plenty of momentum in Big Sky play as they've knocked off both Montana State and Idaho State to start league play 2-2.
Carlos Hines is currently leading the Lumberjacks in scoring, dropping an average of 12.6 points per game. He also leads the team in assists with 44 and is second on the team in steals with 21.
Bernie Andre is second on the team in scoring with an average of 12 points per contest, and leads NAU's rebounding effort with an average of 6.9 per game.
Jack Murphy is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Lumberjacks.
Last Season vs. The Lumberjacks
During the 2018-19 campaign the T-Birds were able to sweep the Lumberjacks, knocking them off in both Cedar City and Flagstaff.
At home, the T-Birds were led by Brandon Better who finished the contest with 19 points and hit three shots from behind the three point line.
On the road, it was Better again leading the scoring effort with 13 points. Former T-Birds Jamal Aytes and James McGee both finished the game with 12 points for SUU.
Words From Todd Simon
On what impressed him most about the victory at Weber State…
"Defensively we had a very good effort from beginning to end, all the way through overtime," he said. "I thought we executed our game plan with very few mental lapses and we just stayed really patient offensively and chose great shots over good shots."
On NAU…
"They're a much improved team and they're playing really good basketball right now," he said. "They're a team that can beat anybody at any given time, and they've proven they can do it on the road. Overall they're a good basketball team."
On having a whole week to prepare…
"It was important, we had four in eight days against four of the better teams in the league in my view, so with our injury and illness situation we're certainly grateful to have a few days to catch our breath with the new semester starting," he said.
Promotions
Saturday's game will feature a performance from Jean's Golden Girls at halftime, and Zion's Bank will be providing headbands for first 350 fans in attendance.
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Tip off is set for 2:00 PM MT on Saturday 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
Individual game tickets for the 2018-19 Season are available at www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.
