LOS ANGELES -- The Southern Utah Thunderbird men's basketball team fell to 0-1 on the opening day of the 2020-21 college basketball season, as the Loyola Marymount University Lions hit a shot at the buzzer to claim an 85-83 victory.  

Jalen Anderson made the shot for the Lions as time expired, which capped off a competitive basketball game on both sides. 

"It was good to shake the rust off and get guys back in the swing of things," SUU head coach Todd Simon said following the contest. "Ultimately, we've just got to be better. We've got to defend without fouling. We can't put a team at the line 31 times and expect to win." 

Illinois transfer Tevian Jones scored the first basket of the season for the Thunderbirds, and Ivan Madunic followed it up with a triple to give the T-Birds an early 5-2 lead. When the first timeout was called the T-Birds had sunk two more triples and led the contest 11-4. 

Southern Utah kept the hot start from three going, as they hit 5-of-6 to start the contest leading to a 19-7 advantage. 

As the opening half wore on the Lions climbed back into the contest, and the score was all knotted up at 32-32 when the final media timeout of the opening frame was called at 3:09. 

Loyola Marymount took their first lead of the first half with 2:02 to play, moving ahead 37-35 on a Joe Quintana triple. 

The Thunderbirds made the right plays in the closing minutes to hold a 42-41 advantage at the break. Jones led all scorers at the half with 17 points. 

LMU started the second half with a 6-2 advantage, and took a 47-44 lead into the first media timeout of the frame. From that point on, the game went back-and-forth between the two teams as neither team led by more than five points for the entire 20 minutes. 

With time winding down and the Lions up three, John Knight III made a contested layup and drew a foul. After sinking the free throw, the T-Birds tied the contest up at 83-83. With 18 seconds left on the clock, LMU took advantage and claimed the victory on their home court. 

Knight III finished the game with a double-double, scoring 19 points and dishing out 10 assists. He also pulled down four rebounds. For Knight III, the 10 assists was a Southern Utah career high.  

"He makes things happen on the offensive end and did a great job finding shooters and creating shots for others," Simon said about the senior guard's performance. 

In his debut with the team, Jones finished with 17 points and hit 5-of-5 from the free throw line. 

Maizen Fausett finished with 14 points and Harrison Butler dropped in 13. 

Both Fausett and Madunic pulled down seven rebounds. Butler finished with six.  

Southern Utah did quite a bit of damage from behind the three-point line, hitting 11 over the course of the contest. 

The Lions of LMU finished the game 21-of-31 from the free throw line, while the T-Birds went 14-of-18. 

"We're just going to work on getting better," Simon said looking forward. "We've got to focus on improving in all aspects."

Southern Utah will play their home opener this upcoming Saturday when they host the University of Saint Katherine Firebirds. Tip time is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside the America First Event Center. 

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