LOS ANGELES -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team moved to 2-2 on the season Monday night in Los Angeles, as they fell to the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference 76-61. The contest was part of the Mainland slate of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.
"We just dug ourselves in a deep hole to start," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "Obviously with turnovers, coughing balls up and we were really, really sloppy for the first eight minutes. When you start that poorly, you're always kind of playing from behind, and we've got to be better than that. But we'll rectify it. And we've got to shoot it better. I think we've seen some fatigue, a little road weariness is catching up to us a little bit. We were a smidge slow with a little less ball pressure than we normally have, and we'll continue to get better at that."
It took the Thunderbirds a little bit to get going, as they trailed by 23-6 at the second media timeout.
Aided by a 7-0 run, the T-Birds started getting back in the contest and pulled back within 12 at the third media timeout.
The Bruins held a 35-22 lead at the break. Dwayne Morgan was SUU's leading scorer at the half with seven points. The T-Birds shot just 30 percent in the opening half and 20 percent from three.
The second half remained mostly the same on both sides, as the Bruins built their lead to as many as 20. When all was said and done, the Bruins secured a 15 point victory, 76-61.
John Knight III finished as the team's leading scorer, dropping in 14 points. Harrison Butler wasn't far behind with 13 points, along with leading the team in rebounds with six. Cameron Oluyitan finished the game with 11 points, while Dwayne Morgan finished with ten. Knight III led the team in assists as well with six.
The T-Birds shot 36 percent from the field for the contest, and went just 5-of-19 from behind the three-point line.
Chris Smith was the leading scorer for UCLA, dropping in 20 points.
The Thunderbirds will continue their run in the Mainland section of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational in Johnson City, Tennessee, against Charleston Southern (November 23) and the winner of the contest between Delaware State and East Tennessee State (November 24).
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