CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team kicked off their 2019-20 campaign in high-flying fashion on Tuesday evening, knocking off the Bethesda Flames 110-66.
"We were happy with the guys overall effort," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "We played our brand of basketball, getting up and down the floor, pressing all over and leaving it all out there. I liked our ball pressure for stretches and we really shared the ball which is an emphasis for us."
Southern Utah opened the game on a 8-0 run, and didn't look back from there. They were able to outscore the Flames 62-31 in the first 20 minutes of competition.
The second half was closer, but the T-Birds still outscored Bethesda 48-35.
Dre Marin led the scoring effort for the Thunderbirds, dropping 20 on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. For Marin, that matched his career high in terms of scoring. Dwayne Morgan was close behind him, scoring 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
Three more Thunderbirds finished in double figures, as Jakolby Long had 16, Cameron Oluyitan had 15 and John Knight III finished with 14.
SUU finished with 25 assists on 40 made baskets.
The T-Birds had 54 points in the paint and 30 points off turnovers.
Southern Utah will continue their season on the road this Saturday, as they'll play the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big 10 Conference. Tip off is set for 12 p.m. MT.
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.
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.
Plays of the Game
