CEDAR CITY, Utah - Dre Marin knocked down a career-high seven three-pointers to earn MVP honors, and the Southern Utah University men's basketball team beat Kent State in the Willis Reed game to advance to the second round of The Basketball Classic presented by ERACISM.

"For me, it's not about how many points I scored or any stats. I'm just really happy that I got the opportunity to play in front of these amazing fans again, and I'll always remember this game and this environment," said Marin.

The win marks Coach Todd Simon and Southern Utah's 21st victory this season, which ranks as the second-highest win total for a single season in SUU men's basketball history.

"Kent State is an outstanding team. That's an NCAA tournament-quality team with a lot of talent," said Simon. "It was fun to measure up and see where we stood with them, and these guys did an outstanding job tonight. We stayed in the zone for 40 minutes, and these guys played very hard."

Tonight's game was the true definition of a back-and-forth contest, as neither team led by more than seven points, in a game that included seven ties and five lead changes. With the win, the Thunderbirds (21-11, 14-6) will advance to the next round of the inaugural Basketball Classic, while Kent State (23-11, 16-4) will turn their focus to next season.

Malique Jacobs came out firing for the Golden Flashes, knocking down three shots in the first two minutes to put Kent State up 7-3. The T-Birds quickly responded with a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the game with 15:30 remaining in the first half. Jacobs continued adding to a 19-point first-half outing, scoring five points over the next three minutes and fueling a 9-2 Flashes run, giving Kent State a 7-point advantage.

SUU continued to battle back, cutting the deficit to a single point with four minutes until halftime. The Flashes used another run to match their largest lead of the game at seven with 1:45 remaining in the half. Just when it seemed that they might create some separation before the break, SUU used a 6-0 run to make it 35-34 Kent State going into halftime.

John Knight III scored a layup to open up the second half, and SUU regained the lead for the first time since they led 9-7. The pace of the game exponentially escalated. Marin started to heat up, knocking down four shots from behind the three-point line over a six-minute span midway through the second half. The last of these shots gave SUU a 60-54 lead, their largest of the game, with just under 10 minutes to play.

Kent State attempted to take the lead back; however, every time they were able to cut it close, the Thunderbirds had an answer. The T-birds hit big shot after big shot down the stretch to hold off the Flashes. A made three-pointer by Jalen Sullinger with 1:08 to play cut the SUU lead to just one. In need of a bucket to hold off the Kent State rally, Maizen Fausett found Harrison Butler open on the wing, and Butler drilled a clutch three-pointer to build the lead back up to four. SUU held on to secure the impressive victory. 

After struggling substantially on the offensive side of the court against Portland State, Southern Utah put on a masterful offensive performance, tallying 20 assists as a team on 28 made field goals. SUU also shot an incredible 60 percent from the field (15-25) in the second half, as well as a blazing 41.4 percent from three for the game, knocking down 12 triples on just 29 attempts. 

The Thunderbirds had four players score in double-figures and seven out of nine players that saw action tonight got on the scoreboard, while eight different players recorded at least one assist.

The Basketball Classic follows the former NIT format, reseeding every team after each round. Southern Utah will be forced to play the waiting game, as the TBC Committee determines who their next opponent will be. The Thunderbirds should know their opponent by the end of the weekend, and the game will be scheduled for sometime next week.

Notable Stats

• The 27 points for Dre Marin was the second-highest scoring outing of his career.

• John Knight III tallied 14 points on 5-6 shooting, while pulling down 6 boards and dishing out 6 assists.

• Jason Spurgin (13) and Harrison Butler (11) also reached double-figure scoring for SUU.

• SUU out rebounded Kent State 34-31.

• Southern Utah's 20 assists were the second-highest they've totaled in a game this season.

• This win was Southern Utah's second all-time postseason win in the programs Division I history.

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