CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team picked up their third-straight victory on Saturday afternoon, as they knocked off the Idaho State Bengals 78-72 inside the America First Event Center.
With the victory the Thunderbirds moved to 12-10 on the season, and above .500 in Big Sky play at 7-6. Â
"It was good win," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "Idaho State has been playing well, coming off a couple victories and a big road win at NAU, and coach Evans does such a good job and has got them playing really well. We haven't' seen a lot of zone this year, and for our guys to respond they way they did offensive was significant."
The Thunderbirds started hot, hopping out to a 9-2 lead over the first three minutes. ISU quickly matched their momentum, however, and tied the contest at 11-11 with 13:19 to play in the opening half.
Neither team would lead by more than six points from that spot until halftime, where the score was knotted at 42-42.
With 14:19 to play in the contest the T-Birds trailed by five, but quickly got hot and went on a 10-0 run that spanned nearly five minutes of game time to pull ahead by five.
The two teams battled all the way until the finish, however, as the Bengals took a one point lead with 2:34 to play. But the Thunderbirds didn't quit, and responded with an 8-0 run that featured strong defense and clutch free throw shooting. Ultimately, SUU prevailed 78-72.
The T-Birds held the Bengals to 34 percent shooting in the second half.
Andre Adams led the charge for SUU, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds. That's his fifth career double-double playing for Southern Utah.
Cameron Oluyitan finished with 14 points, hitting four shots from behind the three-point line.
Both Jacob Calloway and Dre Marin finished with 13 points in the contest. Marin also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
On his birthday, Marin played all 40 minutes of the contest.
Brandon Boyd and Kelvin Jones led the offensive charge for the Bengals, scoring 16 points a piece.
The Thunderbirds will now head out on the road to face off against Sacramento State (February 14) and Portland State (February 16). The Thunderbirds have a victory against both teams already this season.
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.
Individual game tickets for the 2018-19 Season are available at
www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.
Plays of the Game
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