CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Riding a three-game winning streak dating back to a road victory against the Idaho Vandals, the Thunderbird men's basketball team will be back out on the road this week for a rematch with the Sacramento State Hornets and the Portland State Vikings. The T-Birds have knocked off both of these teams already so far this year.
Last Time Out
The Thunderbirds swept their most recent home series, knocking off the Weber State Wildcats 65-53 and the Idaho State Bengals 78-72.
Harrison Butler was the story for the T-Birds against the Wildcats, finishing with 19 points and 13 rebounds. He also had two blocks and two steals in the contest. Dre Marin was crucial for SUU's success, finishing with 15 points and holding WSU's Jerrick Harding to 2-of-14 shooting from the field.
Against the Bengals the T-Birds were led by Andre Adams, who finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Cameron Oluyitan pitched in 14 points and seven rebounds, while Jacob Calloway and Marin both finished with 13.
Chasing History
The Thunderbirds currently sit at 12-10 on the season, and have a 7-6 in Big Sky Conference play. These marks put them on track to break some milestones the team hasn't experienced in quite some time.
The Thunderbirds have not finished a season above .500 since the 2006-07 season, where the team went 16-14. It's only happened three times since the 1999-200 season at SUU.
To this point, SUU's best record in the Big Sky Conference has been 8-12, which was set during the team's first year in the league in 2012-13. The second best mark was 7-11 in 2014-15.
With one more victory, the T-Birds will match their win total from last season which included two victories at the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament.
Opponent Preview: Sacramento State (10-11, 4-8)
The Hornets of Sacramento State have split their last four contests, knocking off Idaho State and Portland State but falling to Weber State and Northern Colorado.
Marcus Graves continues to lead the Hornets in scoring, averaging 16 points per game in 21 starts.
Last Time vs. The Hornets
When the Thunderbirds hosted the Hornets what looked like an easy win for the home team early on got a little too close to comfort down the stretch.
At halftime the T-Birds led 41-18, but a second half surge by Sacramento State made it a one possession game with under a minute to play. Fortunately for SUU, they were able to make the right plays lat to pull away with a 76-71 victory despite being outscored 53-35 in the second half.
Oluyitan led SUU's scoring effort against the Hornets with 21, followed by Adams with 17.
Graves finished with 24 points for Sacramento State.
Opponent Preview: Portland State (9-14, 4-8 Big Sky)
Riding a three game skid, the Vikings of Portland State will host the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks before hosting the T-Birds.
Holland Woods has been PSU's top scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game this season in 22 starts.
Last Time vs. The Vikings
When the Vikings and T-Birds squared off in January SUU came out on top 83-69.
Oluyitan led the scoring effort for SUU with 18, while Calloway was close behind with 16. Adams was also able to pour in 14.
The T-Birds were able to keep Woods in check during that game, as he finished 2-of-9 from the field with just seven points.
Words From The T-Birds
Todd Simon on heading back out on the road...
"We've got to match our performance from home on the road," he said. "We left a couple on the table on our last road swing when we played four in a row, and we can't do that. We're going to have to realize that every possession matters and play with a little sharper focus."
Andre Adams on keeping the momentum rolling...
"We just need to continue doing what we did today (against Idaho State)," he said. "We played with amazing energy today. … We'll just go out there, let our defense travel with us and we'll be fine."
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Tip off is set for 8:00 PM MT against the Hornets on February 14 and 8: PM MT on February 16 against the Vikings.
Live streams for all of Southern Utah's home contests and Big Sky Conference matchups will be available on the PlutoTV App and WatchBigSky.com.
A link to livestats will be available at www.suutbirds.com prior to tipoff.
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.
Tickets
Individual game tickets for the 2018-19 Season are available at www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.
