Southern Utah Grinds Out Overtime Win Over Drake In CIT Opening Round
Box Score (PDF)
CEDAR CITY, Utah (March 22, 2019) – A 21-point, 11-rebound performance from freshman Harrison Butler powered Southern Utah to its first postseason win in school history Friday evening inside America First Event Center as the Thunderbirds pulled out an 80-73 overtime victory over Drake in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
In a game of runs, Southern Utah (17-16) received offensive contributions from five different players in the extra period to outscore the Bulldogs, 11-4. Drake went ice cold on 2-of-12 shooting in the final five minutes.
The Thunderbirds sported a balanced offensive attack with four players in double figures. Cameron Oluyitan added 15 points, nine boards and five assists while Dre Marin dished out a team-high six assists and scored 14 points. Brandon Better finished with 12 points, pacing SUU with seven first-half points.
A pair of free throws by Tremell Murphy capped off an 18-3 run for Drake (24-10) midway through the second half as the Bulldogs grabbed their largest lead of the game at 63-52 with 7:29 to play.
However, the Thunderbirds put together one final push as Butler and Oluyitan combined for SUU’s next nine points to pull within two.
With 1:43 to play, Butler lifted Southern Utah in front on a three-point play before adding a jumper with just under a minute left for a four-point advantage.
A bucket by Drake's Noah Thomas and a missed three on the other end by the Thunderbirds gave the Bulldogs an opportunity to tie or take the lead. With two seconds remaining, Brady Ellingson drew a foul on Butler and drained both free throws to send the game into overtime.
Drake jumped out on the Thunderbirds early in the game with an eight-point advantage before a 10-0 run propelled SUU in front for the first time for a 27-23 halftime lead.
Thomas led five Bulldogs in double figures with 19 points. After capturing a share of the Missouri Valley regular season title, Drake saw its postseason run come to an end early once again after falling to Northern Colorado in the second round of the CIT a season ago.
Southern Utah will host Cal State Bakersfield on Monday at 6:30 p.m. MT in a CIT Second Round matchup at America First Event Center.