CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team will play the second contest of their four-game road swing on Monday, November 18 against the UCLA Bruins in Los Angeles, California. Tip off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. MT. The game is part of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational Mainland slate.
Last Time Out
When the T-Birds were last on the floor they fell to the BYU Cougars in Provo 68-63.
The Thunderbirds struggled to get going offensively in the opening half, but warmed up as the first 20 minutes wore on. They ended up shooting 52 percent in the first half, but weren't able to execute on a triple.
The Cougars led 36-31 at the break. Cameron Oluyitan was the leading scorer for the T-Birds through 20 minutes with eight points.
The second half stayed incredibly tight throughout, as neither team took a lead larger than six points over the final 20 minutes of play.
With 34 seconds to play, BYU's Jake Toolson hit a triple to put the Cougars up four. After a John Knight III free throw, the T-Birds got a stop and with 17 seconds left Dre Marin had a good look at a three that just missed and the Cougars were able to escape with the victory at home.
Stat Leaders
With three contests in the books, Dwayne Morgan is the leading scorer for the Thunderbirds with a 13.7 points per game average. Knight III isn't far behind, averaging 12.7 ppg.
Harrison Butler leads SUU in rebounding with an 8.7 rebounds per game average, and 26 total.
Oluyitan leads SUU with eight assists this season.
Opponent Preview: UCLA Bruins (3-0, 0-0 Pac-12)
The Bruins will enter the contest against the Thunderbirds with a clean record, knocking off Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara and UNLV.
Chris Smith is the team's leading scorer, averaging 14 ppg. Prince Ali isn't far behind with a 12 ppg average. Jalen Hill is UCLA's leading rebounder with an 8.3 rpg average.
Mick Cronin is in his first season as the head coach at UCLA. Cronin has made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances as a head coach.
This will mark the first contest between the Thunderbirds and the Bruins.
SUU is 4-23 all-time against the current members of the Pac-12 Conference. The only win SUU has against a Pac-12 school that was in the league at the time of the competition was Washington State, a game SUU won 55-36 at home in 2003. SUU has defeated Colorado and Utah on the road, but neither team was in the Pac-12 at the time.
Words From Coach Simon
On breaking down the BYU film...
"I loved our energy and effort," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "Certainly had a chance to win, but at the end of the day we have to make some shots from the perimeter. Going 0-for-12 was not us, not normal, but we'll clean that up. And we've got to take care of the ball a little better. We had too many empty possessions with turnovers. If we clean those two things up we'll be good."
On UCLA…
"They're a very big, physical and imposing team," he said. "Coach Cronin does a great job, and they're a team that's not going to beat themselves. They're going to force you to make plays to beat them and they're obviously very tough to beat at Pauley Pavillion."
How To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Monday's contest against UCLA can be viewed on the Pac-12 Networks.
A link to live stats and an audio feed will be available on www.suutbirds.com prior to tip.
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.
Ticket Information
Season Tickets for the 2019-20 season, as well as single game tickets, are available for purchase at the America First Event Center Ticket Office and online at www.tbirdtickets.com.
