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CEDAR CITY — Southern Utah men's basketball opened up its Monday night game with the first basket and never looked back.
Jaiden Feroah set the tone immediately by knocking down his first two jumpers, while Isaiah Cottrell worked inside early with a smooth layup to push the Thunderbirds to a 6-0 advantage.
West Coast Baptist briefly found some rhythm behind a pair of 3-pointers from Jimmie Proctor and Isaias Salgado, tying the game, but it was the last time the game was close.
From there, the Thunderbirds found their pace and settled in. Every time West Coast Baptist tried to slow Southern Utah, the Thunderbirds came back stronger. At halftime, head coach Rob Jeter said "I like the energy from this team right now."
That energy carried into the second half.
The half opened up much like the first half closed, with Southern Utah running the floor and raining 3-pointers. Feroah the half up with a deep ball, Hayhurst continued to put points on the board for the Thunderbirds, and Cottrell added a pair of free throws as the home team stretched the margin even more.
Defensively, Southern Utah was at its strongest, especially with Cottrell, who patrolled the paint with blocks and contested rebounds.
Zeppelin Kidd also scored a 3-pointer that broke the Southern Utah record making that sent the bench into celebration.
By the final minutes, the Thunderbirds were in complete control, substituting players in and out while still running sharp sets. When the final buzzer sounded, the Thunderbirds walked off with a 124-59 win a complete team effort from beginning to end. It was a balanced performance from top to bottom, full of energy.
The Thunderbirds wont be back at home until Jan. 3, now embarking on a four-game road trip, before heading back to Cedar City to face off against UT Arlington.
