CEDAR CITY – Hosting NCCAA member Bethesda (CA), the Southern Utah men’s basketball team secured its first win of the season in a 118-60 blowout.
The T-birds scored the first six points of the game, setting the stage for the dominant win.
Bethesda never got closer than four in the game (6-2), and it took under five minutes for SUU to push its lead to double digits for the first time, 16-6.
A Kai Burdick dunk put the Thunderbirds up 20 with 9:40 left in the first half (36-16), and the home team would take a 29-point lead into the halftime break, 66-37.
Southern Utah pushed its advantage past 30 with the first basket of the second half, just 19 seconds in.
Around the midway point of the second frame, the T-birds would make it a 40-point lead (88-48), and a Zeplin Kidd three-pointer with 3:14 left gave them their first lead over 50, 110-58.
In the end, SUU ran away with a 58-point victory against the much lower-tier Lion Angels, recording its first win of the season.
Five different Thunderbirds recorded double-figure scoring efforts in the win, led by 19 points from Jalen Lee.
The T-birds dominated in every facet of the game, outshooting Bethesda from the field (57 percent to 28) and the three-point line (37 percent to 14). Southern Utah also led the way in rebounds (65-26), points in the paint (58-36), fast break points (50-13), bench points (84-19), and second-chance points (18-4).
The win for Southern Utah improves their record to 1-2 on the season.
Up next
Southern Utah (1-2) hits the road for three games, beginning with a trip to Nebraska to battle Summit League member Omaha on Saturday, Nov. 15.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+.
Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics.
