By james art 
CEDAR CITY, UT- College basketball is back! The Southern Utah Thunderbirds opened their season against the Western New Mexico Mustangs at the America First Events Center on Monday night.
The Thunderbirds defeated the Mustangs by a score of 96-68. The starting lineup for SUU shined, with each of the five finishing the night in double figures in the scoring column. Jamari Sibley led the way with an opening night double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
1-0 for the beginning of the year 🥳#TBirdNation ⚡️ #RaiseTheHammer pic.twitter.com/d2QbEJl4Bl
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) November 5, 2024
Southern Utah jumped out to a 21-2 lead as six Thunderbirds got in on the scoring action during the streak, including every member of the starting lineup.
Rotate and fade 🤌🏻
📺: @espn pic.twitter.com/cFH328ZUCt
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) November 5, 2024
The starting five were efficient during their time on the floor as well, shooting a combined 26-44 from the field, good for 59 percent. Jamari Sibley also got it going from beyond the arc, making 4-5 threes.
Jamari caught him jumping 🫢
📺: @espn pic.twitter.com/CrpVHu0HPo
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) November 5, 2024
Jamari leads with 18 points ‼️ pic.twitter.com/qeFM4ac3v9
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) November 5, 2024
Senior guard and Louisville transfer Hersey Miller sparked the Thunderbirds off the bench, scoring 12 points in 15 minutes. He was 3-5 from the game, including two triples.
Hercy with his first points as a Thunderbird 🥳
📺: @espn pic.twitter.com/I7ds966qsc
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) November 5, 2024
One of the keys to Southern Utah’s win on Monday was their dominance in the paint. They outrebounded Western New Mexico 45-33 and had 14 more points in the paint. The Thunderbirds also added six blocks, taking ownership of the space under the basket on both ends.
It’s a party in Cedar City ✋🏻
📺: @espn pic.twitter.com/Niffi0VPOO
— SUU Men’s Basketball (@SUUBasketball) November 5, 2024
Southern Utah will stay at home for the next three games. Their next contest will be on Saturday, November 9th at 6:30pm MT. The Thunderbirds will take on the Florida International Panthers.
Tanner Tripp is a sports writer for KSL Sports, covering all teams in the state of Utah. Follow him on X @tanner_tripp and Instagram @tanner.tripp here.
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