CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team will wrap up their regular season slate this weekend, when they travel to the state of Montana to take on the Montana State Bobcats (Thursday, March 5) and the Montana Grizzlies (Saturday, March 7).  

Tip time for both contests is set for 7 p.m. MT. 

Last Time Out

When the Thunderbirds were last on the court, they knocked off the Idaho Vandals 87-55 in Cedar City. That result snapped a five-game losing streak for the T-Birds. 

The first half was all T-Birds, as they led 43-15 after the opening frame. While they had a number of runs worth pointing out, the 23-2 surge to close out the first half stands out as one of the more impressive. 

The T-Birds shot 55 percent from the field in the opening half, and hit 58 percent from behind the three-point line. 

Cameron Oluyitan finished the opening 20 minutes with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting. 

The second half was more competitive, but the T-Birds still outscored the Vandals 44-40 to run away with an 87-55 victory. 

Oluyitan finished with 22 points in the contest. He shot 5-of-9 from behind the three-point line. 

Stat Leaders

With two regular season games remaining on the slate, Oluyitan remains the team's leading scorer with a 13.2 points per game average and 384 total points this season. John Knight III is the team's second leading scorer, averaging 12.6 ppg and totaling 354 points this year. The T-Birds have six players that have scored over 200 points this season. 

A pair of sophomores leads the team in rebounding, with Maizen Fausett pulling down 5.8 rebounds per game, and Harrison Butler averaging 5.7 rpg this year. Andre Adams has a rebounding average of 6.4 rpg through 20 games, with 127 total.   

Knight III holds a comfortable lead as the team's leader in assists, dishing out 3.0 assists per game for a total of 83 this year. 

Oluyitan leads the squad in steals with an average of 1.3 per game and 38 total. 

Daouda (David) N'Diaye and Andre Adams are the team leaders in terms of blocks, with a 1.2 and 1.1 blocks per game average respectively. 

Opponent Preview: Montana State Bobcats (15-14, 9-9 Big Sky)

After winning just one of their last four contests, the Bobcats of Montana State will play host to the Thunderbirds at Worthington Arena in Bozeman. 

When the T-Birds and Bobcats squared off in early January, the Thunderbirds knocked off MSU at home 59-53. 

Balanced scoring got the job done for SUU in that game, as Fausett scored 13 with both Knight III and Butler dropping in 12. 

The T-Birds held the Bobcats to 27 percent shooting in the contest. 

Opponent Preview: Montana Grizzlies (18-11, 14-4 Big Sky) 

After winning seven of their previous eight contests, the Grizzlies of Montana are in the hunt for the Big Sky regular season title, and will host the Bears of Northern Colorado before welcoming the T-Birds to Missoula. 

When Southern Utah and Montana squared off in Cedar City earlier this season, it was a close contest that the Grizzlies claimed 60-58. 

Fausett was the top scorer for the T-Birds, securing a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Butler also had a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards. Knight III finished with 13 points. 

Jared Samuelson was the top scorer for the Grizzlies, finishing the contest with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Kendal Manuel had 17 while Sayeed Pridgett finished with 16. 

State of the Big Sky 

The Big Sky regular season title is on the line this weekend as Eastern Washington (14-4), Montana (14-4) and Northern Colorado (13-5) are all still alive with shots at claiming the regular season prize. 

Eastern Washington has contests against Idaho State and Weber State remaining. Montana hosts Northern Colorado and Southern Utah, while the Bears will also take on Montana State. 

Those three teams have secured a BYE in the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament, with the final two BYE's still up for grabs. Portland State and Northern Arizona both sit in those sports currently with 10 wins on the year.  

Words From Coach Simon 

On knocking off Idaho…

"We played the game the right way, moved the ball, trusted each other and got a good result because of that," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. 

On Montana State…

"They're a very talented team," Simon said. "They've got good, quality upperclassmen and we've got quite a test ahead of us especially on their home floor. But if we play our game, share the ball and play tough defense, we'll be right there."  

On Montana…

"They're playing good basketball and are right at the top of the standings again," Simon said. "They have an outstanding senior in Sayeed Pridgett, and they're going to have a tough environment on their senior night, so we're going to have to play our top game." 

On the Big Sky… 

"There's no real matchups that we prefer over another," Simon said. "We feel like all these gare games that we can compete in and find ways to win. Everyone's 0-0 next week, and I think we're getting healthy at the right time." 

How To Watch / Listen / Follow Along

All Big Sky Conference games will be available to stream on both the PlutoTV App and www.WatchBigSky.com. 

Saturday's contest against Idaho will also be broadcast nationally on Eleven Sports. 

A link to live stats, live video and any available radio feeds will be available on www.suutbirds.com prior to tipoff. 

Follow Us

Follow the Thunderbirds all season @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Basketball page on Facebook. 

Read all about the Thunderbirds on www.suutbirds.com.