CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team pulled out a nail-biter at home on Saturday afternoon against the Wolverines of Utah Valley University 73-72.
With eight seconds remaining in the contest, John Knight III laid the ball in to put the T-Birds up by one score, and the defense was able to hold UVU on the other end to secure the win.
The victory moves the Thunderbirds back above .500, sitting at 5-4 on the season. They also played in front of 3,017 fans and a packed student section inside the America First Event Center.
"We're just excited," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "It was a great program win. … Things weren't going our way, but they stayed with it and played a full 40 minutes. We tried to stay disciplined offensively, and get to the free throw line which was a priority for us, and we were able to manage the last three minutes to pull ahead."
After the T-Birds went up 4-0, the Wolverines jumped back quickly with an 11-0 run of their own to take an early lead.
They were able to keep it rolling as well, taking a 20-10 lead by the second media timeout.
As the first half wore on, the Thunderbirds climbed back into the contest. By half time, the T-Birds had cut the UVU lead to four at 38-34.
Through the second half the Wolverines continued to lead, and did so until there was just about two minutes left in the contest. At that point, Cameron Oluyitan stole the ball from UVU and jammed it home on the other end. Despite another UVU score, that possession helped lead to Knight's game-winner.
Olyitan led the T-Birds in scoring with 19 in the game, including a perfect 7-of-7 mark from the free throw line.
Dwayne Morgan finished the game with 15 points, while Maizen Fausett and Knight III had 10.
Damani McEntire finished the game with a game-high +13 in terms of plus/minus on the stat sheet, playing critical minutes for the Thunderbirds on the defensive side of the ball.
The Thunderbirds held a massive advantage in terms of fast break scoring, finishing the game with 16 compared to UVU's three.
Trey Woodbury finished the game as UVU's leading scorer with 19 points.
The Thunderbirds will be back at home next weekend, as they host UC Santa Barbara for their annual Christmas in the AFEC game. Tip off against the Gauchos is set for 2 p.m. MT.
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Read all about the Thunderbirds on www.suutbirds.com.
Plays of the Game
