ST. GEORGE — After splitting their Big Sky home stand against Montana and Montana State, the Thunderbirds traveled to Pocatello, Idaho where they took on the Idaho State Bengals. Only up four at the half, SUU was able to pull away in the second to get the 16 point victory.
“We challenged them a little bit at the half because we thought we didn’t finish the first 20 minutes particularly well,” head coach Todd Simon said in a release. “We got shots we liked, we just didn’t hit them, and we thought we were giving up a little too much on the other end of the floor. And they stepped up to the challenge in the second half.”
The Thunderbirds have been a great defensive team all season, holding their opposition to an average of 63.3 points per game. On games when the Thunderbirds hold their opponent to under 65, they are 6-6. That showed again on Thursday night.
While the offense has been a different story, the Thunderbirds exploded for 71 points. Cameron Oluyitan had 20 points and played the entire game, while John Knight III and Dwayne Morgan added 15 and 13 respectively.
“He was playing great defense, and he does so much for us out there on both ends of the floor,” Simon said of Oluyitan. “He ended up having a fantastic night.”
The Thunderbirds will be back home on Thursday and Saturday next week to take on Northern Arizona and Sacramento State. SUU is currently in a tie for second place in the Big Sky standings with Northern Colorado at 3-1.
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