CEDAR CITY, Utah. With last night's triumph against Sacramento State, Southern Utah men's basketball head coach Todd Simon claimed his 100th victory at the helm of the Thunderbirds. Today, we celebrate some of his milestone triumphs.
WIN 1
Southern Utah (108), Bethesda (92)
November 19, 2016
With 56 Bethesda fouls and 78 free throw attempts from Southern Utah alone, the Thunderbirds captured a 108-92 victory in their regular season home-opener against the Bethesda Flames in the Centrum Arena.
Exactly half of the Thunderbirds' points came from the free-throw line.
"We wanted our guys to attack on every single possession. We put our head down and went, and our guys are quick," head coach Todd Simon. "It led to a lot of free throws. I haven't quite seen those numbers in my career."
Randy Onwuasor led the way for the Thunderbirds, shooting 6-14 from the field for 26 points. Onwuasor also led the team in free throws, draining 14 of 16. Race Parsons and Jacob Calloway added 17 and 14 points, respectively.
John Marshall led the game in assists with seven.
The Thunderbirds shot 40% from the field, 20.7% from beyond the arch, and 69.2% from the free throw line.
"As we try to evolve with this team, our competitive maturity is still in development. We kind of let off the gas, and that goes back to competitive maturity," said Simon. "It was good for our guys to keep battling."
Southern Utah took a quick 13-6 lead to start the game before the Flames battled back to tie the game at 16. The Thunderbirds rallied to grab their biggest lead of the game at 30-22 before heading into halftime with a 45-33 lead.
Onwuasor led the first half with 16 points as Parsons added 11. The Thunderbirds shot an impressive 45.2% from the field in the first half.
James McGee nailed back-to-back threes to launch the second half, and the Thunderbirds held a comfortable lead throughout the remainder of the game, rounding out the night with a 108-92 victory.
"Simon told us we wanted to look to attack first and get to the free throw line, and that's what we did," Parsons said. "We got to the free throw line, and we shot 78 free throws. Now the next step is making a lot more of those free throws—starting with me."
WIN 10
Southern Utah (87), San Diego Christian (68)
December 2, 2017
The Thunderbird men's basketball team picked up a wire-to-wire victory on Saturday afternoon inside the America First Event Center, knocking off the Hawks of San Diego Christian 87-68.
This is the first time the T-Birds have been over .500 in head coach Todd Simon's tenure, moving to 4-3 and remaining undefeated at home.
Neither team was able to gain too big of an advantage in the opening half. The T-Birds led throughout, but SUU's lead didn't get higher than seven until there was under three minutes on the clock. The T-Birds led 41-37 at the break.
Simon said the defensive side was his main focus when the team went in for the break.
"We're trying to make progress on the defensive end, we're a very good offensive team and we continue to be able to score," Simon said. "I just didn't think our attention to detail was there in the first half."
The Thunderbirds never trailed in the opening half.
In the second half, the T-Birds got going offensively. SUU went on an 18-3 to take a 59-40 lead with under 13 minutes to play in the contest. The T-Birds were able to keep the advantage the remainder of the contest and win 87-68.
Brandon Better led the team with 21 points and eight rebounds. He was on top for Southern Utah in both categories.
Jadon Cohee finished with 16 points, and Jamal Aytes finished with 14. Both Dre Marin and Christian Musoko finished with 13, leaving the T-Birds with five players in double figures.
"What's good about our team is our balance, we've got so many guys that can score," Cohee said.
The Hawks were led by Derek Novsek, who finished the game with 15.
WIN 20
Southern Utah (109), West Coast Baptist (63)
Nov. 6, 2018
The Thunderbird men's basketball team secured a win in their regular season opener on Tuesday night, knocking off the West Coast Baptist College Eagles 109-63 behind 28 assists on 43 made field goals.
"It was a good night for us in terms of how we're trying to establish our culture and how we want to play," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "The 28 assists was a big deal for us on 43 field goals, and we forced 29 turnovers. We're trying to force tempo, create a little chaos out there and the guys did a good job doing that."
Dwayne Morgan led the Thunderbirds in scoring, dropping in 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Cameron Oluyitan had 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field for the T-Birds as well.
Freshmen Maizen Fausett and Harrison Butler both scored in double-figures for the T-Birds, scoring 16 and 15 respectively.
Brandon Better was the fifth T-Bird to score in the double-digits, dropping in 11 points of three-of-five shooting from behind the three-point line.
The T-Birds started hot and never let up, outscoring the Eagles 57-29 in the first half. They kept up the pressure in the second, outscoring WCBC 52-34 and rolling to a 109-63 victory.
SUU outscored the opposition 52-16 in the paint, and scored 38 points off turnovers.
WIN 30
Southern Utah (65), Weber State (53)
Feb. 7, 2019
The Thunderbird men's basketball team completed a sweep of in-state rival Weber State on Thursday night, and led the entire way leading to a 65-53 victory.
The victory moved the Thunderbirds back above .500, sitting at 11-10 overall and 6-6 in the Big Sky with another league matchup on Saturday.
The T-Birds are 7-2 at home this season.
"Obviously it was a huge win for the program," SUU head coach Todd Simon said following the contest. "Weber for so many years has been the class of the Big Sky, an in-state rival, the whole deal. To get that in-state sweep was extra sweet for our guys."
The Thunderbirds scored the first basket, and led by as many as 11 in the opening half. WSU went on a 5-0 run to close out the opening 20 minutes, and the T-Birds led 33-27 at half time.
SUU led throughout the second half as well, but with 57 seconds to play the Wildcats had cut the lead to five. However, the Thunderbirds made the right plays and big plays by freshman T-Birds secured the victory for SUU.
Freshman Harrison Butler was the catalyst for the Thunderbirds, securing a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. Three of his rebounds were offensive. Fellow freshman Maizen Fausett finished the game with six offensive rebounds, several of which came down the stretch of the contest when the team needed them most.
Dre Marin finished the contest with 15 points, and drew WSU's Jerrick Harding defensively for most of the evening. Harding only scored eight points in the contest, finishing 2-of-14 from the field.
"That's a great program, they have a lot of history, they're well coach, and we knew we had to stay consistent and get good shots and that's what we did," Marin said.
WIN 40
Southern Utah (126), West Coast Baptist (40)
Nov. 29, 2019
The Thunderbird men's basketball team put on a show in front of their home crowd on Friday afternoon, knocking off West Coast Baptist College 126-40.
The 86-point victory is the largest in the history of the program, and the Thunderbirds hit 17 three-pointers which is also a school record. The previous highs were a 68-point margin and 16 triples.
"We always start with defense, and I thought our guys did a good job creating offense from our defense," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "We knew we were a way better shooting team then we were showing, and at some point those things were going to fall and today they just came in waves."
It was a wire-to-wire victory for the Thunderbirds that wasn't in doubt for very long.
Jarryd Hoppo was the leading scorer for the T-Birds with 25 on the night, knocking down seven triples. Cameron Oluyitan finished with 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field.
Both Maizen Fausett and Harrison Butler finished with 16 points, while Butler had a double-double pulling down 11 rebounds.
WIN 50
Southern Utah (85), Portland State (57)
Feb. 8, 2020
The Thunderbird men's basketball team secured yet another bounce back victory on Saturday, as they knocked off the Portland State Vikings 85-57.
This is the third-straight instance at home where the Thunderbirds have lost on a Thursday, but bounced back with a Saturday victory.
The T-Birds are now 14-9 on the season, with a 7-5 record in the Big Sky Conference.
"It was a good bounce back win," SUU head coach Todd Simon. "This group has shown all kinds of character and ability to bounce back from adversity and today we were really focused on defense, which has been our calling card, and I think we put together a pretty good 40 minutes of it."
The victory was also the 50th of Simon's career as head coach of Southern Utah.
Neither team started fast, as the T-Birds led 2-0 at the first media timeout. Things picked up before the second one was called, and SUU had built a 11-6 advantage.
From that point on the Thunderbirds were able to turn it on, and built up their lead to as many as 16. They took a 30-18 advantage into the halftime break.
Early in the second half the Vikings cut the Thunderbird lead down to five, but that didn't last long as the T-Birds built their lead up to as many as 24 with just over 10 minutes to play.
SUU held the lead throughout the rest of the contest, and ended up with a 85-57 victory.
The Thunderbirds shot 60 percent in the second half, hitting 18-of-30 from the field. They also shot 62 percent from behind the three-point line, hitting 8-of-13. The outscored PSU 55-37 in the final 20 minutes.
In the second half alone, Cameron Oluyitan scored 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 4-of-5 shooting from the free throw line.
Oluyitan finished with 24 points in 34 minutes.
Andre Adams finished the contest with 12 points and nine rebounds. Maizen Fausett pulled down a team-high 12 boards.
John Knight III and Dre Marin both finished the game with 11 points in 31 minutes.
The T-Birds outscored the Vikings 36-24 in the paint.
WIN 60
Southern Utah (96), Bethesda (57)
Dec. 21, 2020
With their seventh consecutive victory, the Thunderbird men's basketball team set a new regular season record for wins in a row as they topped the Bethesda Flames 96-57 for the second time in four days.
The T-Birds are now 7-1 on the season and 2-0 in Big Sky Conference play.
If the Thunderbirds are able to win their next game they will own the longest winning streak in program history including both regular season and conference tournament games.
"It was a good effort today," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "We wanted to be better defensively today than we were on Friday and I thought we did a good job on that end of the floor. Offensively, we turned it over too much, but some of that was us trying to be unselfish and trying to make too many plays for each other."
Southern Utah was able to create some separation between themselves and the Flames in the opening half, taking a 38-25 lead into the halftime break.
In the final 20 minutes, the T-Birds outscored the opposition 58-32 to head into Big Sky play with only one loss.
Maizen Fausett led the charge for Southern Utah with a career-high 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting, along with hitting 4-of-4 from behind the three-point line. Fausett also pulled down eight rebounds.
John Knight III finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Tevian Jones and Dre Marin both finished with 13 points for SUU.
The Thunderbirds shot 51 percent from the field in the contest.
SUU's bench scored 35 points on the day.
WIN 70
Southern Utah (92), Northern Arizona (62)
Feb. 26, 2021
The Southern Utah University Thunderbird men's basketball team won their seventh game in a row on Friday evening inside Rolle Activity Center, as they completed their regular season sweep of the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks with a 92-62 victory over their Big Sky and regional rival.
The victory also means the T-Birds went undefeated in the month of February.
With the win, the Thunderbirds are 17-3 on the season and 10-2 in Big Sky Conference play.
"We didn't feel like we didn't play very good on Wednesday, and we wanted to come back and have a better representation of our program and where we're at right now," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "Luckily guys are buying in on the defensive end and that's translating to points on the offensive end."
Southern Utah started hot out of the gate, sprinting to an 11-2 lead in the first two-and-a-half minutes.
SUU stayed hot for the first nine minutes, and built up their advantage to as many as 14.
Despite some strong pushes by Northern Arizona, the Thunderbirds didn't relinquish control of the lead at all in the opening half.
The T-Birds hit their final three shots of the half, and led by 10 at the break.
Both Dre Marin and Maizen Fausett were saddled with two fouls in the opening 20 minutes. Despite that, Fausett led the scoring effort for SUU in the first half with 10 points.
The second half belonged solely to Southern Utah. In just over three minutes the Thunderbirds built their lead up to 20, and never looked back. Even though the Lumberjacks were able to cut the lead back down to 11, the T-Birds quickly responded with a 7-0 run to kill any momentum.
SUU's lead continued to build as the second half wore on, and eventually it resulted in a 30 point lead and victory for the Thunderbirds.
Marin, the Arizona native, finished the game as the leading scorer for Southern Utah with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He was just one point shy of matching his career high. Fausett wasn't too far behind, finishing with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting. The junior from Saratoga Springs also led the team in rebounds with seven.
Tevian Jones had another big outing for the Thunderbirds, finishing with 17 points.
John Knight III had 15 points for SUU, finishing as the fourth T-Bird to score in double figures.
SUU shot 56 percent from the field in the contest, and hit 11 triples.
The Thunderbirds outrebounded the Lumberjacks by 15, with a 37-22 advantage. SUU also took advantage of NAU's 14 turnovers, scoring 26 points off of them. Along with those numbers, they outscored NAU 32-14 in the paint and finished with 20 points off the bench.
The last time Southern Utah lost was on the road against Weber State on January 23.
"We've improved defensively by so much, and we've got better poise," Simon said. "We've just got to keep it going one game at a time."
WIN 80
Southern Utah (100), Saint Katherine (61)
Dec. 11, 2021
The Southern Utah University men's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack with four scorers in double figures and two players with nine points apiece to defeat Saint Katherine, 100-61, Saturday afternoon at the America First Event Center.
The Thunderbirds stretched their winning streak to six games with the victory and now sit at 7-3 overall on the season.
"I'm proud of the guys' performance today," said Southern Utah head coach Todd Simon. "I thought for 40 minutes 12 guys gave all they had, which was outstanding. I thought we had good enthusiasm from our bench. That's 18 in a row at home, so these guys have done a great job protecting our home floor. We got 12 guys minutes today and all 12 played really well."
John Knight III led the way in scoring for the T-Birds with 19 points, and was followed closely by Dee Barnes who led the way in bench scoring with 16. Tevian Jones and Harrison Butler scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, and Maizen Fausett and Aanen Moody both contributed nine. Fausett finished the game with 10 rebounds, finishing the game just a point shy of a double-double.
Shooting percentage and rebounding proved to be the difference for Southern Utah as the Thunderbirds outshot the Firebirds with a 57.8 percent clip to just 36.7 percent for Saint Katherine. SUU also pulled down 46 rebounds compared to just 26 for the Firebirds.
Saint Katherine played the Thunderbirds tough in the opening half as it was a four-point game with 4:38 to go until halftime. Coach Simon then had his team start applying full-court pressure, and the T-Birds quickly upped their advantage to 14 points before hitting the locker room. SUU was able to close the half on a 9-2 run.
Out of the halftime break, Southern Utah continued to play intense defense with a full-court press, and made its run to put the game out of reach after the first timeout of the second half. A quick 10-0 burst by the T-Birds put them up by 20, and the lead never slipped lower than 15 while eventually growing as high as 41 points.
WIN 90
Southern Utah (79), Northern Arizona (48)
Feb. 21, 2022
Tevian Jones scored 12 points, Maizen Fausett had a 12-point, 8-rebound outing, and the Southern Utah University men's basketball team used a suffocating defense to hold Northern Arizona to 34.5 percent shooting from the field on their way to a 31-point victory.
The Thunderbirds (17-9, 11-5) went down 4-0 to start the game but responded with a 15-0 run of their own and never looked back, as they kept the pressure on the Lumberjacks until the final buzzer.
Southern Utah had seven different players knock down a three-point shot throughout the night, shooting a red-hot 41.9 percent from beyond the arc.
The Thunderbird defense showed up in full force, limiting one of the Big Sky's best three-point shooting teams to just 14.3 percent from three, well below their season average of 36.5 percent, and their lowest shooting mark from behind the three-point line in any contest this season. The T-birds were also plus five in the turnover margin, scoring twelve points off of ten Lumberjack turnovers.
Southern Utah received offensive contributions from across the board, as eight different players scored at least eight points in the contest.
After dominating the first half, Southern Utah took a 17-point lead into the break. Northern Arizona did their best to get back into the game, going on a 9-0 run to start the second half. SUU responded yet again, answering the Lumberjacks' run with a 24-6 run of their own, pushing the lead to 26. At one point in the midst of the huge run by the T-Birds, Jones scored or assisted on five consecutive baskets.
The T-Birds kept the intensity up over the last ten minutes of the game, continuing to build upon their lead. Nick Fleming knocked down his third three-pointer of the game with 12 seconds left to put the icing on the cake, as the Thunderbirds picked up their 17th win of the season in dominating fashion.
WIN 100
Southern Utah (91), Sacramento State (87)
Nov. 26, 2022
The Southern Utah men's basketball program outlasted former Big Sky foe Sacramento State, 91-87, in double overtime as a bevy of free throws by senior guard Harrison Butler iced the game down the stretch on Saturday, Nov. 26 in Laie, Hawaii. SUU improved to 4-3 with the triumph, while Sacramento State fell to 3-4 in a contest that featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes.
T-Birds Tidbits
Southern Utah dominated the paint to the tune of a 56-34 advantage against the Hornets. SUU also held off a scrappy Sacramento State squad on the glass, winning the rebounding war, 40-37.
SUU held a slight advantage in shooting, bettering the Hornets 48 percent to 45 percent from the field. The 'Birds also edged Sacramento State from the line, 77 percent to 73 percent.
Top Thunderbirds
Senior guard Tevian Jones led all scorers with 24 points, moving his career total to 1,041 along with his tally at SUU to 944.
Junior center Jason Spurgin nearly matched his career high of 22 points with a season-high 20 points as he owned the paint for Southern Utah.
Sophomore guard Drake Allen (14) and Butler (13) also scored in double digits with Butler collecting a double-double with 10 rebounds.
Recent Overtime History
That's the third consecutive overtime win for the Thunderbird program. Previously, SUU downed Yale, 88-85, in overtime on Nov. 23, 2021 while also pouncing on Portland State, 85-82, in overtime on Jan. 27, 2022.
History Against Sacramento State
With the win, SUU now owns a 23-14 advantage in the lifetime series against the Hornets, including a five-game winning stint that began with an 88-69 victory on Feb. 18, 2021. It's also the most points Southern Utah has scored against Sacramento State wince a 93-64 drubbing in Cedar City on Feb. 18, 1995.
Climbing the Scoring Charts
Senior forward Maizen Fausett's nine points moved him on the cusp of joining the 1200-point club at SUU with 1,199 career points as a Thunderbird. Butler, meanwhile, increased his career tally to 1,132.
Points
1,710; Davor Marcelic (1989-1992)
1,568; Jeff Monaco (1997-2001)
1,434; Dre Marin (2017-2022)
1,300; James McGee (2014-2018)
1,297; Richard Barton (1989-1993)
1,273; Jackson Stevenett (2010-2013)
1,223; John Knight III (2019-2022)
1,205; Davis Baker (2007-2010)
1,199; Maizen Fausett (ACTIVE)
1,132; Harrison Butler (ACTIVE)
First Half
Heading into the first media timeout with 16:00 left, SUU trailed Sacramento State, 10-4, largely due to the Hornets' ability beyond the arc. Sacramento State connected on a pair of threes to open the game.
Southern Utah cut the gap to two points, 12-10, at 14:54 with a 6-2 burst during the next 1:41 of play. Fausett collected four of those points with a jumper and a pair of free throws. Sacramento State, however, countered with a 7-2 run of its own heading into the next media timeout. The Hornets stretched their advantage to 19-12 with 10:47 in the half.
Sacramento State pushed its lead to 24-16 with 7:14 left in the half. Spurgin, however, connected on back-to-back layups as SUU looked for a way to get back on track. Spurgin's effort triggered a 7-2 sprint by the Thunderbirds during the next 4:09 of play with Jones splashing a three-pointer as well as a jumper. Butler also scored on a layup as SUU cut the lead to 26-23 heading into the final media timeout of the half at the 3:30 mark.
After a pair of free throws by Spurgin chopped Sacramento State's lead to 26-25, graduate guard Cameron Healy drilled a trifecta to put Southern Utah ahead, 28-26, with 2:37 to play. That gave the 'Birds their first lead since opening the game with a Spurgin layup just 15 seconds into the game. Allen then forced a Hornet timeout with 1:45 left in the half with a layup to push SUU's lead to 30-26. Southern Utah then closed out the half with a 34-29 lead.
Spurgin led the way for the 'Birds in the first half with 10 points, while a team-based focus on crashing the glass led SUU to outrebounding Sacramento State, 17-16. A total of seven Thunderbirds collected caroms with senior guard Dee Barnes, Butler and Allen leading the way with three each. Spurgin's effort definitely showed in the team box score with SUU doubling up Sacramento State in the paint, 24-12.
Second Half
Southern Utah entered the first media timeout of the second stanza at 15:44 with a 38-35 lead thanks to layups from Allen and Jones. The two teams then traded blows in the next 4:31 of play with SUU holding on to a 44-43 lead with 11:34 left in the game. Spurgin continued to shoulder the load with a pair of layups, while Fausett also turned in a layup of his own.
Sacramento State grabbed a 49-46 lead with a pair of three-pointers to lead with 10:36 left in the contest. The Hornets stretched their lead to 52-48 with 8:32 on the clock. Junior guard Amound Anderson accounted for SUU's points with a pair of free throws.
The Thunderbirds tied the game, 54-54, with a quick 6-2 run in the next 3:54 of action thanks to six more points in the paint. Allen collected a layup while Spurgin flushed an emphatic dunk and a layup of his own at the 4:38 mark.
Sacramento State's Zach Chappell put the Hornets on his back the next 1:43, single-handedly pushing them to a 61-54 with a pair of layups and a three-pointer with 2:55 left in the game.
The Thunderbirds responded with a 6-0 run of their own in the next 1:29 of action to close the gap to 61-60. Jones connected on a pair of free throws, while Allen accounted for four points with a layup and a jumper.
With Sacramento State picking up a 63-60 lead with just 43 seconds left in the game, Southern Utah won the free-throw battle down the stretch as Allen sunk four from the charity stripe to send the contest into overtime.
Overtime
Allen, who keyed the SUU comeback with his success at the free-throw line, fouled out a minute into overtime. That allowed Anderson to provide a spark off the bench as he scored a layup to tie the game at 66-66 with 3:44 in overtime after a pair of Hornet free throws. Anderson then collected an important rebound that led to Jones putting SUU up, 68-66, with a layup.
With Sacramento State responding to tie the matchup, 68-68, with 2:41 in the game, Jones put the Thunderbirds up 72-68 with 1:39 left in overtime thanks to a trifecta and a free throw.
Following a Hornet three-pointer with 1:26 left to cut the lead to 72-71, Fausett scored a layup at 1:07 to extend SUU's lead to 74-71. Spurgin, who had a near career-high night with 20 points, fouled out of the game. Sacramento State made the ensuing free throws to pull within 74-73 with 52 seconds in overtime. With 12 seconds left, the Hornets cashed in once at the line to knot the contest at 74-74 and send the game into a second overtime.
Sacramento State kick-started the second overtime with a pair of free throws to take a 76-74 lead with 4:48 left. Fausett hit the front end of two free throws after being fouled at 4:38 to shave the deficit to 76-75.
With 4:00 to play in the second overtime, Anderson drilled a pair of free throws to put SUU up 77-76. Sacramento State countered at the 3:44 mark with a layup to retake the lead, 78-77. Freshman center Parsa Fallah, who did not see time until extra sessions, pilfered a key steal that led to a Jones layup at 3:13 to put SUU ahead 79-78.
Sacramento State fired back at 2:40 with a layup of its own to take an 80-79 lead before Jones buried a three-pointer with 2:32 left to move Southern Utah ahead, 82-80. Chappel made both of his free throws for the Hornets at the 2:00 mark to tie the game, 82-82.
Butler followed up a Jones missed layup with a successful layup of his own with 1:47 left to play to grab the lead for SUU, 84-82. Butler put Southern Utah up, 86-82, with a pair of free throws at the 1:23 mark. With 51 seconds left in the second overtime, Butler nailed another pair of free throws to stretch SUU's lead to 88-82. In total, Butler accounted for six consecutive Southern Utah points.
Sacramento State followed Butler's run with a pair of free throws of its own to trim the advantage to 88-84 with 30 seconds left in the contest. After forcing a missed three-pointer by the Hornets, SUU extended its lead to 90-84 with 21 seconds left thanks to back-to-back free throws by Jones.
The Hornets would not go quietly into the night as Austin Patterson knocked down a triple with 10 seconds left to chisel into the SUU lead, 90-87. Butler, however, collected his seventh point of the second overtime with a free throw to put SUU up 91-87 with four seconds left. Patterson could not replicate the same shot for Sacramento State as his three-pointer missed at the end of the contest with Southern Utah capturing a 91-87 victory.
