The Southern Utah Thunderbirds beat the Grace University Lancers 97-53 on Thursday night at America First Events Center, getting 17 points from JaJuan Nicholls in a 44-point win.
Nicholls made 7 of 9 shots and 3 of 4 free throws and added 6 rebounds in 15 minutes. Anthony Breland scored 15 off the bench in 12 minutes, hitting 3 of 6 from 3-point range. Jaiden Feroah added 11 points and 6 rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting.
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Southern Utah never trailed. The game had no lead changes and one tie, and the Thunderbirds led 45-23 at halftime. A 15-0 run took the score from 43-23 to 58-23, and Southern Utah's lead grew to as many as 50. The Thunderbirds outscored the Lancers 52-30 after the break.
Nehemiah Johnson led all scorers with 24 points for Grace University, making 11 of 19 shots. Caleb Palmer had 9 points and 9 rebounds but shot 2 of 9 from the field and 5 of 12 at the line. Thibault Merino scored 7 off the bench.
Southern Utah shot 49% (35 of 71) to the Lancers' 37% (20 of 54). The Thunderbirds held edges of 45-35 on the boards, 50-30 in the paint and 19-6 on fast breaks. They committed 7 turnovers to Grace University's 20 and had 19 assists to the Lancers' 11.
Grace University made 2 of 13 3-pointers and 11 of 24 free throws. Southern Utah improved to 2-0.
