Thunderbird Basketball – 2007-08 Game Stories

IUPUI Cools Off Thunderbirds

CEDAR CITY, Utah, Jan. 5 – George Hill scored 30 points and pulled down 10 rebounds Saturday night to lead Summit League pre-season favorite IUPUI to a 78-61 win over Southern Utah.

The loss ended a modest two-game winning streak for the Thunderbirds, who dropped to 4-11 overall and 2-2 in Summit League play, while IUPUI moved to 11-3 and stayed perfect in conference games at 3-0.

The Jaguars went on an 11-2 run early in the game with Hill scoring five points on a jumper and a 3-pointer while Austin Montgomery and Gary Patterson each hit threes. The run gave IUPUI a 21-9 advantage with 12:38 to go in the first half.

Southern Utah got back within seven on a Rick Roberts free throw with 5:31 remaining in the half but the Jaguars pulled away late in the period to take a 42-19 advantage into halftime.

IUPUI held SUU at bay in the second half to pick up the win.

“We ran into a good basketball team tonight and we weren’t able to respond to the challenge,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said. “Give IUPUI credit, they ran their offense and did what they wanted to do on that end of the court and they played well on the defensive end too. We took some bad shots and made some bad passes and they were able to take advantage of their opportunities.”

IUPUI hit 30-of-48 shots in the game, or 62.5 percent, the best shooting night of the season by an SUU opponent, including 9-0f-16 (.563) from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Jaguar defense harassed SUU into a 42 percent night (21-of-50), and the Thunderbirds knocked down just 3-of-19 3-point attempts.

Geoff Payne scored 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds, narrowly missing his fifth double-double of the year, to lead the Thunderbirds but IUPUI shut down SUU’s second-leading scorer heading into the game, Davis Baker, limiting him to just six points on 2-of-8 shooting. Roberts wound up second on the team Saturday night with seven points and five rebounds for the Thunderbirds.

Hill, who hit 10-of-14 shots including 3-of-5 3-pointe attempts, also had six assists, one block and a steal for the Jaguars.

Box Score

Thunderbirds Break Through At Home Vs. Western Illinois

CEDAR CITY, Utah, Jan. 3 – Davis Baker tied his career-high with 20 points and Geoff Payne notched his fourth double-double of the season as Southern Utah held off Western Illinois for a 73-60 Summit League win Thursday night. The win was SUU’s first at home this season after five losses in the Centrum, two in overtime, to open the 2007-08 campaign.

Payne scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to help SUU move to 2-1 in Summit League play and 4-10 overall while WIU dipped to 0-2 in conference games and 5-10 overall. David Jackson scored 17 points to lead three Leathernecks in double figures.

The Thunderbirds, who never trailed, took control early, running out to a 10-4 lead in the first five minutes and extending the advantage to 30-12 with 7:45 to play in the first half. Baker and Payne combined for 19 of SUU’s first 30 points.

The Thunderbirds pushed the lead as high as 21, at 38-17 when Baker scored a layup with 2:51 remaining in the first half, his 12th points of the period, and SUU held a 38-19 lead at the break.

SUU shot 50 percent in the first period, hitting 14-of-28 shots, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Baker knocked down 4-of-5 shots, including 2-for-2 from downtown in the first half and Dave Marek hit his only shot from long range. SUU also had 12 assists before halftime, with Marek leading the way with three.

Western Illinois came out firing in the second half, scoring the first four points and pulling to within 43-32 after Jerryck Owens-Murrey hit a pair of free throws with 15:05 to play. Payne hit two free throws and Baker scored on a layup to push the lead back to 15, however, and although Western got back within 12 late in the game the Leathernecks could not break through.

“It’s nice to finally get a win at home,” Baker said. “We’ve struggled to finish games at home and I don’t know why but we did tonight.”

“We’re finally getting some consistency in our play,” SUU Coach Roger Reid pointed out. “All year long we’ve been pointing toward the conference season and now it’s here. We came in with a positive attitude after winning at Cal Poly last week and now we’ve won two in a row, hey, we’ve got a winning streak going!

“We played hard on the defensive end and were very unselfish, plus we took care of the ball and did a good job rebounding, especially in the first half,” Reid added. “I thought we played efficiently on both ends of the court.”

SUU wound up shooting just 45.1 percent after hitting 9-of-23 shots in the second half but the Thunderbirds held WIU to 35.3 shooting, 18-of-51. SUU also out-rebounded the Leathernecks 34-31 and had 18 assists to 14 turnovers. Marek and Payne each finished with four assists and Rick Roberts had three as the team tied its season-high dimes total. Marek also had 12 points, two off his season-high.

SUU hosts preseason Summit League favorite IUPUI Saturday night in the second game of a double-header involving the two schools’ women’s teams, while WIU travels to Kansas City for a Saturday match-up with UMKC.

Box Score

Thunderbird Men Down Cal Poly, 61-53

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., Dec. 29 – Tate Sorensen notched his second double-double of the season Saturday night, scoring a career-high 26 points and pulling down 10 rebounds to lead Southern Utah to a 61-53 win over Cal Poly.

Sorensen scored 11 of his points in the first half when the Thunderbirds built a 27-19 lead, then poured in 15 in the second half despite being forced from the game by an inadvertent elbow that opened an inch-long gash in his forehead.

The win, which avenged a 73-66 home loss earlier in the season, snapped a three-game losing streak and sends the Thunderbirds into the bulk of their Summit League schedule on a positive note as the team hosts conference foes Western Illinois and IUPUI next week.

“This is a big win for us heading into conference play,” Sorensen said. “It gives us some confidence. We know we can be a good team when we play hard and tonight we played hard all night long.”

Cal Poly scored the first four points of the game but Dave Marek hit his only basket of the game, a 3-pointer, then Davis Baker hit a jumper and Sorensen scored on a layup to give SUU a 7-4 edge and Cal Poly never led again.

The Mustangs did pull within two, at 42-40 on a Titus Shelton steal and dunk with 10:24 to play but Geoff Payne answered with a layup, then Nurudeen Adepoju picked John Manley’s pocket and got the ball to Sorensen for a layup to push the Thunderbird lead back to six.

The Thunderbirds extended the lead to 53-43 when Sorensen dunked a follow of a Davis Baker miss, but Cal Poly battled back, pulling within 56-52 on a Trae Clark jumper with 43 seconds to play but Adepoju hit a jumper while Baker hit a free throw and Sorensen hit two to hold off the Mustangs.

“We had a great effort tonight, we played hard the entire game,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said. “We did a good job defensively, holding them to 36 percent shooting, but I was really impressed by our rebounding. We out-rebounded them 40-to-32, including 11 offensive rebounds and I was very proud of that kind of effort.”

Sorensen had four offensive rebounds as his total of 10 tied his career-high. Adepoju finished with seven assists, also a career-best, while Baker scored 15 points and pulled down a career-best eight boards. Payne finished with 13 points for the Thunderbirds.

Clark scored 13 to lead the Mustangs, while Shelton had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Box Score

Cal State Fullerton Handles Thunderbird Men

FULLERTON, Calif., Dec. 17 – Marcus Crenshaw came off the bench to score 17 points and Josh Akognon added 16 as Cal State Fullerton handled Southern Utah Monday night, 99-63.

Crenshaw hit 5-of-9 3-pointers and Akognon 4-of-8 as the Titans shot 50 percent from long range and .552 overall in sending the Thunderbirds to their ninth loss of the season. SUU shot 50 percent in the first half but dipped to .357 in the second when the Thunderbirds hit just 10-of-28 shots.

CSUF pulled away late in the first half, outscoring Southern Utah 23-6 over the final 7:38 of the period to overcome a 24-21 deficit and take a 44-30 advantage into halftime. Akognon scored 14 points during the run, hitting 4-of-4 3-point attempts and a layup as the Titans pulled away.

CSUF scored the first two baskets of the second half and the Thunderbirds never got back within 14 the rest of the way.

“We just got beat tonight by a better basketball team,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said. “There’s not really a lot to say about it other than they are a very talented team that beat us pretty soundly tonight.”

Geoff Payne led the Thunderbirds in scoring for the ninth time in 11 games, with 18 points, and pulled down a team-high six rebounds while Nurudeen Adepoju added 11 points.

Southern Utah out-rebounded the Titans, 35-32, but CSUF controlled the other statistical categories, picking off 13 steals as the Thunderbirds committed 22 turnovers.

SUU did hit 13-of-15 free throws, 84.6 percent, by far the team’s best effort from the line this season.

Box Score

UVSC Tops Thunderbirds In Double Overtime

CEDAR CITY, Utah, Dec. 15 – Utah Valley State’s Ryan Toolson scored 35 points – including 3-pointers to send the game into overtime and again to send it into a second extra period – to lift the Wolverines to a 91-88 win over Southern Utah Saturday night.

With the win UVSC improved to 4-6, while SUU dipped to 2-8 and remained winless at home during the 2007-08 campaign.

Southern Utah led by as many as 15 in the first half and had a 42-33 edge at halftime but UVSC came back from an 11-point deficit by outscoring the Thunderbirds 19-8 over the final five minutes of regulation.

Southern Utah didn’t help itself in the second half, missing 8-of-14 free throws in the period but Tyler Quinney hit two with seven seconds to play to stake the Thunderbirds to a 68-65 lead. SUU did a good job defending in the final seconds but Toolson hit a long, high arcing 3-pointer as time expired to send the game into the first extra session.

The teams went back-and-forth in the first overtime period but Southern Utah took a 79-75 advantage after Dave Marek hit a pair of free throws with 35 seconds to play. UVSC got a quick basket, however, a layup by Matt Komenda with 26 seconds to go, and the Wolverines quickly fouled Davis Baker on the inbounds play.

Baker hit his first free throw but missed the second to give SUU an 80-77 advantage, but Toolson came to the rescue again, knocking down another long three to tie it with 12 seconds remaining. Marek drove to the basket but missed the shot and didn’t get a foul call and the game went into a second extra session.

Toolson was the hero again in the second overtime as he hit yet another 3-pointer to give UVSC a 91-88 lead with 31 seconds to play. Nurudeen Adepoju missed a 3-pointer on the other end with 17 seconds to go and Josh Olsen grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Olsen gave the Thunderbirds new life, however, as he missed both his free throw attempts, but Adepoju and Baker each missed 3-point attempts on the other end as UVSC hung on to win.

Adepoju and Geoff Payne each scored 25 for Southern Utah, while Baker chipped in 13. Marek finished with nine points and nine assists.

Jordan Brady finished with 15 and Olsen had 13 for UVSC.

Box Score

Thunderbirds Back In Win Column At Oakland

ROCHESTER, Mich., Dec. 8 – Geoff Payne scored a career-best 32 points and pulled down 11 rebounds Saturday night to spark Southern Utah to an 82-73 win at Oakland. The win snapped a six-game Thunderbird losing streak and evened SUU’s Summit League record at 1-1 (2-7 overall). Oakland fell to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

The Thunderbirds shot 57.4 percent from the field (31-54) including a .600 effort (18-30) in the second half when they pulled away from a 33-32 halftime advantage – the team’s first lead at the break all season – both because of the shooting and the defensive effort, which limited to Oakland to 37.8 percent (14-of-37) from the field.

The Thunderbirds grabbed control of the game with a 13-2 second half run. With his team trailing 55-53 Payne grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a putback, then took a feed from Rick Roberts for a fast-break bucket that put the team up for good with 9:10 to go. Mike Josserand then drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing to give SUU a 58-53 advantage.

After Keith Benson scored to pull the Grizzlies back within three, Nurudeen Adepoju scored inside, Josserand hit a pull-up jumper and Payne hit a short jumper to give the Thunderbirds a 66-57 advantage.

SUU pushed its lead as high as 12 points on two occasions but OU mounted a last minute comeback as Erik Kangas hit a long 3-pointer with 38 seconds to play to cut the advantage to nine. Tim Williams then forced Dave Marek inot a turnover and converted a layup to bring OU within 80-73 with 34 seconds. After Payne was fouled on the ensuing in-bounds play he missed a pair of free throws, giving Oakland a chance to cut further into the lead but the Grizzlies missed back-to-back-to-back 3-point attempts before Adepoju grabbed a rebound and was fouled with eight seconds to play.

Adepoju hit both his free throws to seal the win and end the slide.

“I’ve been coaching this game a long time but I don’t know if I’ve ever been any more proud of a team than I’ve been of this one,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said. “We had a total team effort tonight against a good team. They’re a long, tall, athletic team that has been picked to finish at or near the top of our league but I can’t say enough about the effort our guys made.

“The first key I look at is our rebounding, we out-rebounded a bigger, more athletic team 36 to 26 because we came out and we worked,” he went on to say. “We also got contributions from everyone. Geoff Payne was just outstanding and Davis Baker has really given us a spark the last couple of games. [Adepoju] had been struggling but he really came out of his shell tonight and we got good play from Mike Josserand and Tate Sorensen off the bench tonight.”

Payne recorded his third double-double in nine games while Adepoju finished with a season-high 18 points and Baker turned in 15 two nights after scoring 20 at IPFW. Josserand, a freshman, came off the bench to dish out five assists, score seven points and pick off three steals, all career highs. Sorensen had just six points but two were critical free throws in the final minutes and he also dished out a career-best three assists.

Kangas finished with 27 points to lead four Oakland players in double figures.

Box Score

Thunderbirds Drop Summit Opener At IPFW

FT. WAYNE, Ind, Dec. 6 – Geoff Payne scored 27 points and Davis Baker added a career-high 20 but Southern Utah’s comeback efforts fell short in the Thunderbirds’ Summit League opener as IFPW held on for a 74-66 victory.

Dave Marek hit a 3-pointer to open the second period to pull the Thunderbirds within 34-28, but DeWitt Scott and Jakari Johnson each scored eight points during a 23-5 Mastodon run for a 57-33 advantage with 11:23 to play.

Baker came off the bench to hit his first 3-pointer of the season, however, and went on to score 13 points over the next eight minutes as the Thunderbirds pulled within 65-59 on a Baker jumper in the lane with 3:28 to go.

IPFW’s Jakari Johnson answered with a 3-pointer, however, and Southern Utah could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

“We played well in stretches but we couldn’t sustain anything,” SUU Coach Roger Reid pointed out after the game. “We need the kind of effort we saw in the last 10 or 11 minutes for the entire game if we expect to win games, especially on the road.

“I did see a lot of good things tonight though,” Reid added. “We got good contributions off the bench from Davis and from [Nurudeen Adepoju], the kind of effort we’ve been looking for from our bench.

“We also did a good job shutting down [IPFW leading scorer Ben] Botts and we held them to 42 percent shooting,” he went on to say. “I thought Dave Marek did a good job running the offense, Geoff did a good job scoring and we did a decent job rebounding.”

Southern Utah out-rebounded its opponent for the sixth time in eight games this season, pulling down 32 caroms to 31 for the Mastodons. SUU also had 18 assists, including a career-best 10 by Marek.

Jaraun Burrows scored 18 and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds to lead four Mastodons in double figures. Scott finished with 17, Demetrius Johnson had 14 and 10 assists and Jakari Johnson scored 12 points. Botts, who was averaging 14.2 points per game coming in, finished with seven.

Box Score

Colorado-Colorado Springs Stuns Thunderbirds

CEDAR CITY, Utah, Nov. 30 – Nic Fuller hit a running jump shot as time expired to lift Colorado-Colorado Springs to a 79-78 win at Southern Utah Friday night, sending the Thunderbirds to their fifth straight loss, their fourth in a row at home.

With the loss SUU dipped to 1-6 on the season while UCCS improved to 4-1.

UCCS took control early, jumping on the Thunderbirds midway through the first period and taking a 22-15 lead on an Eric Davis 3-pointer with 10:29 to go in the period. SUU answered with a 7-2 run and got within 24-22 on a Geoff Payne jumper with 6:41 to play, but the Mountain Lions pulled away down the stretch in the first half and led 42-31 at the break after Fuller buried a three with 22 seconds to go in the period.

The Lions built their lead as high as 52-37 with 14:54 to go but Southern Utah chipped away. The Thunderbirds didn’t pull even, however, until Geoff Payne hit a twisting layup with five seconds to go for a 77-77 tie. Steven Clements fouled Payne on the shot, however, and Payne converted the ensuing free throw to give the Thunderbirds their first lead since the 13:30 mark of the first half, at 78-77.

UCCS answered however, as with four seconds to go Fuller took the inbounds pass, dribbled the length of the floor and threw up a high floater in the lane that bounced off the rim, then off the backboard, before finally falling through the hoop for the game-winner.

“They deserved to win this game,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said. “We came out in the first half with no energy and no enthusiasm and they took it right to us. They played hard, they made shots and they took advantage of the opportunities we gave them.

“We came out in the second half with more energy and more enthusiasm but we weren’t able to sustain it,” he added. “You need to play hard for 40 minutes to expect to win a basketball game.”

Payne finished with his third double-double of the season as he led all scorers and rebounders with 22 points and 12 boards while Dave Marek finished with 14 points and five assists and Tate Sorensen chipped in 11 points for the Thunderbirds. Payne also had five steals while Nick Livi had a season-high five assists.

Fuller finished with 21 points for the Lions, while Kyle Perkins added 15 and Davis had 14.

UCCS hit 29-of-52 shots, 55.8 percent, and 10-of-21 3-pointers, while Southern Utah hit just 28-of-64, 43.8 percent, including just 4-of-17 from long-range (.235).

Box Score

Lobos Hold Off Thunderbirds 57-48

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Nov. 28 – J.R. Giddens scored 14 points, eight in a four minutes span of the second half to boost New Mexico to a 57-48 win over Southern Utah in non-conference basketball Wednesday.

New Mexico stayed perfect at 7-0 with the win while SUU dipped to 1-5 with the loss.

Southern Utah had not led or been tied at the half all year coming into the game but were even with the Lobos at the break, 23-23, thanks to a tenacious defensive effort that limited UNM to 1-of-15 shooting from from 3-point range (6.7 percent) and to 9-of-30 overall in the half (.300).

Orlando Griego hit 3-of-4 shots in the period and Rick Roberts connected on 2-of-5 to lead the Thunderbirds with six and four points, respectively.

The game went back-and-forth over the first eight minutes of the second half but with 10:37 to go Giddens scored inside to break a 36-36 tie, then hit a pair of jump shots and a dunk over the next 3:37, while the Thunderbirds were unable to put any points on the board. Combined with a Roman Martinez free throw, Giddens points lifted the Lobos to a 45-36 advantage and the Thunderbirds got no closer than seven the rest of the way.

“I’m not very happy we lost but I’m very pleased with the progress we’re making,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said after the game. “We played a nice team tonight on a hostile court and we gave ourselves a chance to win. We played hard against a team that’s been beating its opponents by 30 points on this court; I’m proud of our efforts.”

Southern Utah wound up holding New Mexico to its worst shooting night of the season, 38.9 percent, including just 12.5 percent (3-of-24) from 3-point range. Coming into the game the Lobos had been shooting 47.8 percent from long-range and .520 overall and had not hit less than 44 percent of their 3-pointers or .520 overall at home all season.

“Defensively we held them to under 39 percent and gave them just three 3-pointers,” Reid noted. “We did a great job against a great 3-point shooting team tonight. We got on them defensively, we took away their dribble penetration and our guys had a great effort.

“We also had some guys come off the bench and do a nice job for us,” he went on to say. “Orlando and Rick [Roberts] and John Clifford really gave us a boost tonight.”

Roberts wound up leading the Thunderbirds with 11 points while Nick Livi had 10 and Griego finished with eight. Geoff Payne had his second-lowest scoring night of the year with nine points and failed to pull down a rebound for the first time this season.

Dave Marek also dished out a career-high eight assists for the Thunderbirds, while Tate Sorensen and Tyler Quinney each had six rebounds and Roberts and Clifford each finished with five.

UNM’s Daniel Faris, who finished with 10 points, was the only other player to score in double figures.

Box Score

Boise State Edges Thunderbirds In Overtime

CEDAR CITY, Nov. 24 – Matt Bauscher scored five of his team’s nine points in overtime  Saturday night to help lead Boise State to a 75-73 non-conference win over Southern Utah. With the win the Broncos improved to 3-2 on the season, while SUU was denied its first home win of the season in falling to 1-4.

The game was close throughout, with neither team leading by more than eight points, a margin SUU held midway through the first half after Mike Josserand hit a 3-pointer to stake the Thunderbirds to a 19-11 lead.

Boise State battled back to take a 28-27 halftime edge, then went up by five, at 33-29 early in the second half after Anthony Thomas converted a 3-point play. That was as big a margin as the Broncos would have, however, and the game was tied seven times in the final 11 minutes, the final time after SUU’s Nick Livi hit a baseline jumper with 20 seconds to play in regulation to pull the Thunderbirds even at 66-66. That basket wound up as the final hoop of regulation.

Bauscher hit a 3-pointer 14 seconds into the extra period, however, and the closest SUU came after that point was within one, at 69-68 after a Tate Sorensen layup, and again at 71-70 after Geoff Payne hit a pair of free throws with 1:43 to play.

Bauscher converted a pair of free throws to push BSU’s edge back to three, however, and after Tyler Quinney could convert just one of two charity tosses – Quinney’s first missed free throw of the season – Boise got a pair of free throws from Tyler Tiedeman to push the lead to 75-71 with 11 seconds to play.

Dave Marek drove the length of the court and hit a free throw to pull SUU within 73-75 with seven seconds to go, then Livi fouled Bauscher with four seconds remaining.

Bauscher gave the Thunderbirds a chance, missing both his free throws but Marek’s long 3-pointer rimmed out and Reggie Larry corralled the rebound at the buzzer to give Boise State the win.

 “We battled hard out there tonight, we played better than we have the last couple of games but the bottom line is we didn’t win,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said. “Once again we did a poor job shooting free throws and we turned the ball over way too much.

“You can’t miss free throws, particularly down the stretch, and you can’t turn it over 23 times against a good opponent and expect to win,” he pointed out. “Even with all those mistakes we had a chance to win it in the end but we weren’t able to.”

Southern Utah hit just 17-of-26 free throws (65.4 percent), but Boise State was even worse, connecting on just 13-of-24 attempts (54.2 percent).

Payne led all scorers with 28 points, while Sorensen logged his first double-double of the regular season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Payne also had nine rebounds.

Tiedeman led five BSU players in double figures with 17 points, while Larry logged a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Thomas also had 14 points to go with seven assists, while Bauscher finished with 11 points and Matt Nelson had 10.

Box Score

Cal Poly Outlasts Thunderbird Men

CEDAR CITY, Utah, Nov. 20 – Geoff Payne scored 29 points and pulled down 12 rebounds but his efforts were not enough as Cal Poly got a balanced effort in sending Southern Utah to a 73-66 men’s basketball defeat Tuesday night.

Although Dave Marek chipped in 12 and Tate Sorensen scored 10 points only one other Thunderbird had more than five points and only seven of the 13 who played scored at all.

Meanwhile, Cal Poly got 15 points from Shelton Titus and 14 each from Dreshawn Vance and Chaz Thomas as nine Mustangs got into the scoring column.

“We’re looking for combinations right now, looking for who is going to get out and give us a good effort every minute on the floor,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said. “It’s still early in the year and we’ve come up against a couple of good teams in a row, but one thing’s for sure: We need to make a great effort every time out.

Cal Poly limited Southern Utah to just 40.8 percent shooting (20-49), and just 35.7 percent in the second half  (10-28) but the Mustangs were able to connect on 13-of-26 shots in both halves for a 50 percent night.

“Offense comes and goes but you need to play defense every time down the floor and I thought we got a little lackadaisical some of the time on defense,” Reid pointed out. “We need consistency on defense. Every time down the floor it’s a game and you need a good effort on offense and you can’t let up on defense.”

The teams battled back and forth through most of the first half and Cal Poly held a 33-29 edge at halftime. The Mustangs went on an 8-2 run to open the half, however, to build a 41-31 edge, then built its lead as high as 16, 55-39, before Southern Utah made a run.

Marek hit a pair of 3-pointers and a short jumper as the Thunderbirds cut the deficit to 62-53 on a Marek trey with 5:00 to play but could get no closer than eight until the final minute.

In addition to Payne’s SUU career-high 12 rebounds, Sorensen tied his career-best with nine before fouling out with 42 seconds to play as SUU out-rebounded the Mustangs, 36-33.

Box Score

Thunderbirds Drop Home Opener 78-63 to Cal-State Fullerton

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Nov. 17 – Southern Utah men’s basketball played its first game of the 2007-08 campaign at home, but fell to the Titans of Cal-State Fullerton 78-63 on Saturday night.  With the win, the Titans improved to 3-0 while the Thunderbirds drop to 1-2.

Southern Utah put the first points on the scoreboard as Geoff Payne connected on the second of a two-shot foul to give the Thunderbirds the 1-0 lead.  Six minutes later, Southern Utah found itself down 17-6 following a 17-5 run by the visitors.

The Thunderbirds began to chip into the Titan lead and shaved the deficit to as low as 20-16 with 7:38 remaining in the first half.

Fullerton once again countered and out scored the Thunderbirds 19-8 down the stretch to take a 39-24 lead into the break.

The Titans maintained their advantage into the second half and built the largest lead of the game of 25 with a 54-29 advantage after the first six minutes.

Southern Utah found a groove only seconds later as David Marek hit back-to-back 3-point baskets beginning a Thunderbird run.  SUU trimmed the lead to 62-49 on Marek free throws at the 8:42 mark, but were unable to counter the Titans’ final run of the game and came up short in the 78-63 defeat.

“We came out in the second half and didn’t quit,” head coach Roger Reid said after the game.  “We gave it our best effort and I was able to see some positive things in those final 20 minutes.”

Fullerton’s Josh Akognon led all scorers with 23 and was joined by teammates Kenneth Alexander (17), Frank Robinson (14) and Junior Russell (11) in double figures.

Geoff Payne once again paced the Thunderbirds with a team-high 15 points and was joined by Dave Marek (12) and Tate Sorenson (11) in double figures.  Sorenson added a game-high eight rebounds as the Thunderbirds out rebounded the Titans 42-28.

Southern Utah will be back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 20 when the Thunderbirds host Cal-Poly.  Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Box Score

Thunderbirds Claim First Win Of Reid Era At Sacramento State

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 14 – Geoff Payne scored 29 points and pulled down five rebounds as Southern Utah came back from an eight-point second-half deficit to pick up the first win of its Roger Reid era with a 57-53 decision at Sacramento State. SUU moved to 1-1 on the season with the win while CSUS dipped to 1-2.

Down 42-34 with 12 minutes to go the Thunderbirds outscored the Hornets 23-11 the rest of the way. Payne had 12 of those points but Rick Roberts scored all four of his points in the final two minutes to help cap the comeback and seal the win.

After Payne tied the game for the first time since the first half at 47-47 Sac State’s Loren Leath hit a 3-pointer from the corner to stake the Hornets to a 50-47 advantage. Roberts then found Payne underneath for a basket, however, and on the other end Roberts ripped down a rebound, then gave the Thunderbirds a 51-50 advantage with a layup with 2:28 to play to play.

  That was Southern Utah’s first lead since the 12:32 mark of the first half and a pair of Payne free throws extended the advantage to 53-50 with 2:18 to play.

Sac State wasn’t finished, however, as Roderick Adams buried a three to knot the score at 53-all with 2:06 to go, but Roberts answered with a layup off an Orlando Griego feed. Leath then missed a mid-range jumper that went out of bounds to Southern Utah with a minute to play. Payne was short on a shot at the 31 second mark but Griego reined in the rebound and was fouled.

Griego hit one of two free throws to give SUU a 56-53 lead, then Leath missed a 3-pointer and Payne was able to pull down the rebound and hit one-of-two free throws to seal the win.

“I’m proud of our young men coming out an getting a road win early in the season like this,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said. “We were down but in the last few minutes we didn’t turn the ball over, we were able to make some shots and we were able to get some rebounds. It’s tough to go out on the road early in the season and get a win but we did tonight.

“Geoff Payne showed why he is Geoff Payne, not only scoring for us but doing all the other things he does on the basketball court,” Reid went on to say. “Rick [Roberts] did a great job on Leath, he made some big baskets and pulled down some big rebounds at the end.

“We were unselfish, we had players setting screens and making passes. It’s not all about scoring, it’s a team game and there’s a lot that goes into it to make scores and we did those things tonight,” he added.

Roberts and Griego each pulled down seven rebounds for the Thunderbirds, who held a 42-25 edge on the glass and shot .500 from the floor to just .370 for CSUS. Leath finished with 14 points to lead the Hornets.

Box Score

Aggies Spoil Thunderbirds’ Season-Opener

LOGAN, Utah, Nov. 9 – Jaycee Carroll scored 23 points to lead three Aggies in double figures as Utah State spoiled the opening of the Roger Reid era at Southern Utah with a 60-49 win at the Smith Spectrum.

Carroll hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring and although the Aggies never led by more than 15, they didn’t ever trail.

Tate Sorensen, who led Southern Utah with 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting, was the only Thunderbird to score in double figures.

Utah State did a good job defensively on SUU’s Geoff Payne and Nurudeen Adepoju, limiting the duo – the team’s high scorers in the two exhibition games – to six points apiece. Payne hit just 3-of-10 field goal attempts while Adepoju was 2-of-9 from the floor.

In typical season-opener fashion, each team committed 19 turnovers and Southern Utah hit just 37.3 percent of its field goal attempts (19-51) although the Thunderbirds did knock down 3-of-7 3-point tries (.429).

USU did a better job of shooting in its own gym, hitting 22-of-46 attempts (.478) but just .300 (3-10) from long range.

USU also held a significant edge on the glass, out-rebounding SUU 35-26, although the Thunderbirds did have 13 offensive rebounds, including all four of Sorensen’s caroms. Sorensen and Payne each had four rebounds to lead SUU while Carroll led all players with seven.

Box Score

Thunderbirds Survive Adams State Scare, Go 2-0 In Exhibitions

CEDAR CITY, Utah, Nov. 2 – Nurudeen Adepoju scored 16 points to lead four Thunderbirds in double figures Friday night as Southern Utah survived a scare from Division II Adams State College in its final exhibition game of 2007, 79-72.

The Thunderbirds didn’t ever trail after the opening minutes but after building a 44-36 halftime edge, they allowed the Grizzlies to climb back into the game, eventually tying it at 62-62 on a Vitor de Zoppa jumper with 8:05 to play.

The teams then exchanged baskets before SUU ran off eight straight points on free throws by Sorensen and Payne, a 3-pointer by Rick Roberts and a put-back basket by Quinney. ASC didn’t get within six the rest of the way.

“We played hard tonight against a good team and I’m happy we were able to come away with the win,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said. “Adams State is a difficult team to defend against, they run the Princeton offense and they get good shots; they really make you play defense.

“We were able to shoot the ball well though,” he went on to say. “We were patient, for the most part, and although we had too many turnovers again, we got good shots and were able to knock them down when we had the opportunity.”

Southern Utah hit 71.4 percent of its shots (30-42) but also allowed ASC a .566 shooting night (30-53) as both teams had success around the basket and from long-range.  The Thunderbirds also knocked down 7-of-10 (.700) 3-point attempts while ASC was 8-of-17 (.471) from long-range.

Adepoju hit 5-of-9 shots, including 4-of-6 3-point attempts, while Tate Sorensen was 5-of-5 from the floor for 12 points, Tyler Quinney hit 5-of-6 shots for 10 points and Geoff Payne knocked down 4-of-6 points and finished with 12 points. Sorensen didn’t miss a shot in the Thunderbirds’ two exhibition games, after hitting 7-of-7 attempts Wednesday vs. Mesa State.

For Adams State, forward Reece Hampton hit 10-of-12 shots for 21 points, doing all of his damage in the paint, but guard Travis Carr hit 5-of-11, including a 5-of-9 effort from 3-point range to finish with 15 points.

SUU had 20 assists for the second straight night. Freshman Mike Josserand had six to lead the way, while Payne had three and every player who got into the game recorded at least one dime.

Box Score

T-Birds Cruise In Exhibition Opener

CEDAR CITY, Utah, Oct. 31 – Geoff Payne scored 23 points, 17 in the first half, and Tate Sorensen had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds as Southern Utah cruised past Division II Mesa State, 76-56, Wednesday night in the Thunderbirds’ exhibition opener.

Mesa State scored the first five points of the game and held a 7-2 lead at the first media time out but SUU scored 11 straight points en route to a 25-4 run to take control of the game.

Tyler Quinney hit three jump shots and Payne a free throw as SUU moved to an 11-7 lead. Orlando Griego and Mesa’s Ryan Mathews then each hit back-to-back jumpers before the Thunderbirds rattled off 12 straight points, seven by Payne.

Mesa cut its deficit to 10 points but the Thunderbirds led by 15 at the half, 39-24, then ran out to a 22 point lead early in the second half after Nurudeen Adepoju hit back-to-back 3-point baskets and Sorensen converted a traditional 3-point play.

Roger Reid, who was coaching his first game at SUU and his first at the Division I level since 1996, said he was pleased with the team’s overall effort although he was not pleased with the team’s 26 turnovers.

“I thought we did some good things out there tonight when we executed but you can’t turn the ball over 26 times and expect to win against some of the teams we’ll be playing this season,” he pointed out. “If we execute we’re going to score baskets. In this offense all you have to do is execute, you don’t need to force yourself into bad situations and we did a little too much of that tonight.

“We did do a good job hustling and getting rebounds though, and we passed the ball well for the most part,” he added. “Tate did a good job on the boards and Jeff was tough inside. We got contributions from everyone and it’s good to get this one under out belts.”

Payne finished with a game-high six assists and six rebounds, while freshman point guard Mike Josserand had five of the Thunderbirds’ 20 dimes. Sorensen also finished with four blocks and co-led the team, along with Payne, with three steals.

Mathews led Mesa State with 20 points, on 9-of-15 shooting, while Justin Ashbaugh added 14 points.

Box Score