PORTLAND, Ore. -- As the clock ticked down under one minute to play in Southern Utah's first Big Sky contest on the road against the Portland State Vikings, the T-Birds trailed by one and need a bucket. With 37 seconds to play, SUU junior Dre Marin stepped into a triple and knocked it home, giving the visiting team the advantage. The Vikings were unable to score on their final two possessions, and SUU left Portland with a 1-0 record in Big Sky play.
"He's been so good in Big Sky play in his career, and tonight was no different," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "He had a great look at it, we got a great pass to him, and he knocked it down like he does."
For SUU, this was their fourth-straight victory and second-straight win on the road. The T-Birds also moved to 8-4 on the season with two more home games slated for the end of this week.
The Thunderbirds were red hot to start the contest, starting the game with a 14-7 lead forcing the Vikings to call an early timeout.
Despite better shooting from the Vikings, the T-Birds still held a 22-20 lead at the second media. As the half wore on, the Vikings continued to shoot the ball more efficiently. PSU carried a 7-0 run into the under-eight media timeout to take the lead from the T-Birds.
Following the last media timeout of the first half, the T-Birds embarked on a 7-0 run to take a 42-39 lead. Southern Utah continued to hold the lead into the halftime break, sitting on top 44-43.
SUU started hot in the second half as well, hitting five of their first seven shots to hold a 56-52 lead at the first media timeout.
The T-Birds continued to play well, and eventually built their lead to as many as 11. But that's when the Vikings turned it on. PSU went on an 11-0 run to tie the contest and swing the momentum of the contest their way.
The two teams went back-and-forth in the final minutes, but the T-Birds made the right plays down the stretch and Marin's go-ahead jumper with 37 seconds to play was the difference after the Vikings were unable to convert as time expired.
"We had good discipline by Damani McEntire on the ball, he did a good job keeping them in front of him, and we just wanted to get a contest shot and fortunately we were able to force them into one," Simon said.
Cameron Oluyitan finished the game as the leading scorer for SUU, dropping 24 points to go along with five assists. Oluyitan played 39 of the 40 minutes available for the Thunderbirds.
"He's playing at such a high level right now," Simon said. "He's an elite player in this league, and he showed it tonight."
Both John Knight III and Maizen Fausett finished the game with a double-double. Knight III had 20 points and 11 rebounds while Fausett had 15 points and 12 boards.
"They were the top offensive rebounding team in the country, we were one of the best rebounding margin teams in the country, and we knew something had to give on the glass and we're really proud of that," Simon said.
Marin finished the game with 14 points.
As a team the T-Birds shot 54 percent from the field, and outrebounded PSU 42-32. They also had a 44-30 advantage in terms of points in the paint.
Holland Woods finished the contest with 25 points of 9-of-21 shooting for the Vikings.
The T-Birds will play at home on Thursday evening, as they'll face off against the Montana Grizzlies at 7 p.m. inside the America First Event Center.
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.
