CEDAR CITY, Utah -- As the clock ticked down in the America First Event Center Southern Utah's Dre Marin stepped back and drilled a two point jumper to put the Thunderbirds ahead 84-82 with 1.5 seconds to play, and the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona weren't able to respond as the T-Birds picked up their second-straight victory against a Big Sky rival.
"I'm just always believing in the work I put in, and that's a credit to my teammates too," Marin said. "They all believed in me and they all knew I could hit that shot."
The victory moved the Thunderbirds to 7-7 on the season and 2-3 in the Big Sky Conference.
"I thought that was a pretty well played college basketball game on both ends," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "Clean, not a lot of turnovers for either team, not a lot of fouling, both teams blocking out, it was a good basketball game. Both teams were moving the ball. … So it was a well played game and those are the ones that are a little more gratifying to win, because you have to play well to win it."
In the opening half the Thunderbirds led by as many as 10, but the Lumberjacks quickly climbed back into the contest with hot three-point shooting. The T-Birds led 42-40 after 20 minutes of play.
In very similar fashion, the Thunderbirds built a 12 point lead over NAU midway through the second half. But NAU once again came back, and the second half featured six ties and 11 lead changes down the stretch.
Ultimately, it was Marin's shot that lifted the Thunderbirds past the Lumberjacks and secured the victory.
Marin finished the contest with 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Cameron Oluyitan was the team's leading scorer finishing with 18 points. Both Harrison Butler and Jacob Calloway finished with 17 for the T-Birds.
As a team the Thunderbirds shot 51 percent from the field and 50 percent from three point range.
The T-Birds will return home to the America First Event Center next week as they'll host Portland State (Thursday) and Sacramento State (Saturday).
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.
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
