CEDAR CITY, UT -- Coming off an impressive 69-63 win over Middle Tennessee State, the SUU Men's Basketball Team is looking forward to keeping the wins rolling in as they close out non-conference play against The University of Antelope Valley on Sat, Dec 30 at 6:30 p.m. in the America First Event Center. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+ and you can follow along with live stats as well.
The Pioneers of Antelope Valley are currently on a six-game win streak and are 9-2 overall. They have scored at least 70 in every contest they have played and have scored over 100 points twice on the year.
The Pioneers are led by senior guard Michael Hayes and junior power forward Arik Nicholas, both of whom are scoring 20 points per game consistently.
The Thunderbirds are scoring 76 points per game due to having five players averaging double-digits in scoring. Dominique Ford still leads the team at just over 15 a game and Parsa Fallah isn't far behind at just over 14 a game. Braden Housley and Zion Young both average exactly 12.9 points per game and Prophet Johnson is averaging 10.3.
The addition of Jamari Sibley has been huge for the Thunderbirds, due to the new two-time transfer ruling, he has become eligible to play and has made an immediate impact both offensively and defensively.
Where the Thunderbirds struggle the most is defensively, giving up 76 points per game, and allowing opponents to shoot an average of 50% from the field.
"We still have to be better defensively. We can score with any team we will play against, but where we have to be better is locking in defensively on each possession. Defense is about effort and buy-in," said Head Coach Rob Jeter.
Up Next
This contest will be the last of the preseason for SUU. They will resume conference play next week when they host Grand Canyon on Thursday, Jan 4, and then travel to Utah Valley on Sat, Jan 6.
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