OGDEN, Utah — The Thunderbird men’s basketball team wrapped up their four-game road trip on Saturday night against in-state rival Weber State, falling to the Wildcats 82-71.
“When we’re giving up runs we’ve got to be able to flip those, and that’s kind of been the margins in these games,” SUU head coach Todd Simon said following the contest.”
Southern Utah now sits at 14-13 on the year, with a 7-9 record in the Big Sky.
“Certainly we’re beat up, and fatigue is a factor, but we’ve got to figure out how to dig in and pull it together for a full 40 minutes,” Simon added.
The start of the opening half was a close one, with the T-Birds holding a 16-15 advantage roughly 10 minutes in. Unfortunately for SUU, that’s when the Wildcats hit their stride. WSU rattled off 10 points in a row to take a 25-16 lead, and held it through the remainder of the opening half.
The Wildcats held a 39-27 advantage at the break.
John Knight III led the T-Birds in scoring through 20 minutes, dropping in 11. Dre Marin wasn’t too far behind with eight.
Weber State kept in control through the second half.
The Thunderbirds were able to pull back within seven with less than six minutes to play, but weren’t able to get any closer in the final minutes eventually falling to their in-state rival.
Knight III finished the contest with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He was also 8-of-11 from the free throw line.
Marin finished with 12 points, while Andre Adams dropped in 10.
Cody John had a big evening for the Wildcats, dropping in 28 points. Jerrick Harding finished the contest with 22.
The T-Birds will be back home on Thursday and Saturday next week, for contests against Eastern Washington and Idaho. Saturday’s contest against the Vandals will be SUU’s annual Senior Day game.
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Story and photo courtesy of SUU Athletics
