CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball knocked off the Eastern Washington Eagles at home on Thursday night, matching their most Big Sky Conference victories since joining the league with an 8-8 record. The T-Birds moved back above .500 on the season as well, sitting at 13-12.
"It was a good 40 minutes for us," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "Our identity needs to be where we're becoming a good defensive team, holding the other team's percentage down, and we put a huge emphasis on rebounding and taking care of the ball. And we did those things for the most part tonight."
The Thunderbirds are also 9-2 at home this season.
Dre Marin was the offensive catalyst for the Thunderbirds early, as he started 5-of-5 from the field with each shot coming from behind the three point line. The T-Birds led for the majority of the first half, but were never able to get too far ahead. They took a 33-30 lead into the halftime break.
The second half is where the Thunderbirds found their groove. With 6:39 to play the Thunderbirds had built a 14 points lead and never looked back taking a victory by the same margin.
Marin led the Thunderbird offensive effort with a career-high 20 points. He also had seven rebounds on the night. Jacob Calloway was second on the team in scoring with 17 in 32 minutes of action.
Harrison Butler had a near double-double, scoint 12 points and pulling in nine boards.
Despite fouling out, Andre Adams had 10 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes of action. SUU outscored the Eagles 28-16 in the painted area.
Jesse Hunt had 19 points for the Eagles.
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www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.
Plays of the Game
