CEDAR CITY, UT -- The Thunderbirds snap a two-game losing skid with a big win over Middle Tennessee State in the WAC - C-USA alliance by a score of 69-63, in the America First Event Center. The Thunderbirds led for just 21% of the game and were down as many as 11 early in the first half, but continued to battle and ultimately came away with a six-point victory.
Game Recap
The Thunderbirds took their largest lead of the game with 1:33 left to play with a score of 66-59, but a quick 4-0 run by the Blue Raiders and it seemed that more of the same struggles were coming for SUU, but a big three-point make by Zion Young with just 23 seconds left pushed the Thunderbird lead back to six and that would be the game.
"It is just a testament to this team's mentality, coming off two hard losses and starting the game slow, we still battled back and came out with a big win at home," said Head Coach Rob Jeter.
Statistical Recap
SUU struggled outside of the paint all night, shooting just 26% from three, but could get downhill and finish at the rim and draw fouls. The Thunderbirds shot 16 more free throws than the Blue Raiders and made 10 more.
Perhaps the largest discrepancy of the night was SUU winning the turnover battle 16-3, and scoring 21 points off of said turnovers. And increased effort and intensity on defense, particularly in the second half, led to MTSU only scoring 26 points in the second half and a much-needed victory for the Thunderbirds.
SUU was led in scoring by Parsa Fallah who was 8-14 from the field and snagged a team-high nine rebounds. Young added 16 points of his own, Braden Housley once again had a do-it-all performance, scoring 11 points including 3-6 from three, pulling down four rebounds, dishing three assists, snatching three steals and tacked on two blocks. True freshman Brock Felder was key in his 16 minutes, with two points, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
The Blue Raiders were led by Jestin Porter who had a game-high 26 points and five rebounds.
"A really good team performance, we held them to 26 points in the second half which is where we have struggled and I am proud of our guys for bouncing back and getting a win before the Christmas break," said, Jeter.
Up Next
The Thunderbirds have one final preseason game against Antelope Valley on Dec 30 at 6:10 p.m. in the America First Event Center.
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