The Southern Utah University men’s basketball team took care of business Tuesday afternoon, beating San Diego Christian College, 109-50.
Dre Marin set a new career high in points with 21 on 78% shooting, all while assisting on three baskets and pulling down four rebounds. Harrison Butler finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Dee Barnes set a new career high as a T-Bird with 14 points including three 3-pointers.
Teyden Gause scored 20 for the Hawks. Jermaine Camacho followed with 17 points and five boards.
Only five Hawk players registered a field goal. For the T-Birds, 14 different players scored at least once.
“We just came in and took care of business,” Marin said. “We are locked in. We knew if we came in and [messed] around we wouldn’t be good. But we were focused today.”
The game remained close during the first eight minutes of play. Despite playing excellent defense, the T-Birds struggled to find the bottom of the net, missing 10 of their first 16 shots. A Harrison Butler second-chance layup opened the gates for the T-Birds, and just three minutes later, they led by 15.
The T-Birds ran a full-court press throughout the majority of the first half, which resulted in 13 San Diego Christian turnovers.
Turnovers along with an increased shooting percentage resulted in the lead ballooning to 33 by the end of the first half.
SUU brought the starting five out to start the second half, and just four minutes in, the lead expanded to 42.
A 3-point shot by Damani McEntire at the eight-minute mark pushed the lead to 52. A Kingsley Box 3-pointer with 54 seconds to go took the lead to 59, the highest lead for the T-Birds.
After 40 minutes of SUU domination, the buzzer finally sounded, ending the game with a score of 109-50.
SUU is longing to get back on track in their conference schedule. The previous four scheduled conference games have been canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
The T-Birds will take the court again Thursday, Feb. 18, in Cedar City against Sacramento State University. The game can be viewed online on PlutoTV channel 1055.
Story by: Kelton Jacobsen
sports@suunews.net
Photo courtesy of SUU Athletic Department Strategic Communications
