Southern Utah University men’s basketball welcomed former Big Sky Conference foe Idaho State University to town on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Thunderbirds won the showdown 82-74.
First half
The game started on a very cold note with both teams going scoreless for the first three minutes. This drought broke when junior guard Miguel Tomley converted a triple for the Bengals. After a turnover by the Thunderbirds, Tomley struck again from beyond the arc, giving Idaho State the early 6-0 lead.
The Thunderbirds battled back, led by sophomore center Parsa Fallah, who contributed 15 of the team’s 33 first-half points to help Southern Utah go into halftime with a 33-26 advantage.
Second half
Coming out of the break, the Thunderbirds put their foot on the gas and never let up, leading by double digits for a majority of the second half. Redshirt freshman guard Braden Housley distributed the ball extremely well, picking up five assists in the second half.
Fallah continued to shine for Southern Utah, building on his first-half dominance by scoring 14 more points. This addition brought him to 29 points for the game on a very efficient 13/16 from the field. He also dominated on the boards, leading both teams in rebounds with seven.
Southern Utah smothered the Bengals defensively, too, forcing 19 turnovers and scoring 20 points off them. All of this culminated with the Thunderbirds coming away with the win.
With the victory, the Thunderbirds move to 3-6 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The loss sinks Idaho State to 4-7 on the season.
Key players
— Fallah had a career-high 29 points and seven rebounds.
— Sophomore guard Prophet Johnson ended with 15 points, three rebounds and one steal for the Thunderbirds.
— Junior guard Dominique Ford finished with 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Thunderbirds.
Next up
The Thunderbirds won’t play again until Saturday, Dec. 16, when they’ll make the trip to Flagstaff, Arizona, to take on another former Big Sky opponent, Northern Arizona University. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Aidan Mortensen
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
