GAME NOTES: The Southern Utah Thunderbirds try to top their win total from all of last season as they tangle with the Boise State Broncos as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic at Taco Bell Arena on Sunday.

In 2013-14, the Thunderbirds won a grand total of just two games, and one of those was the opener versus a non-Division I opponent in Arizona Christian. This time around the team already has victories against Texas-San Antonio and, most recently, St. Katherine (92-45) last weekend. Southern Utah didn't come up with its second win last season until the first week of March.

As for the Broncos, they have rattled off seven wins in the first nine outings in 2014-15. Since bowing to NC State late last month, BSU has posted three consecutive victories, the latest being a 91-51 thrashing of Northwest Nazarene at home three nights ago.

In terms of the all-time series between these two programs, the Broncos have won all but one of the previous 10 encounters in a relationship that dates back more than three decades.

Spreading the wealth as best they could, the Thunderbirds had 13 players see at least 11 minutes of action against St. Katherine during the blowout win. A total of 15 players scored during the onslaught, with Casey Oliverson putting up 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field in just 14 minutes. Tyler Rawson responded with 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots in only 14 minutes off the bench as well. A.J. Hess pitched in with 10 points and five boards as SUU dominated the glass (47-28) and forced 21 turnovers.

Thanks to a couple of games in which the T'birds scored over 90 points, the squad's season average is now up to 75.8 ppg, but that is still below the 78.2 ppg foes are generating. Hess, one of four players to have started five of the first six games for SUU, leads the offense with 14.5 ppg as he shoots not only 45.2 percent behind the 3-point line but also 90.5 percent at the charity stripe. Averaging just slightly less than 11 assists per outing, the Thunderbirds are led in that department by John Marshall with his 18 dishes.

Like Southern Utah, the Broncos also used their most recent outing to pad some of their stats as they blew away Northwest Nazarene by 40 points at home, goading the visitors into 18 turnovers and allowing just 16 field goals. James Webb III posted a double-double in only 19 minutes of action with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Derrick Marks led all scorers with 19 points, hitting 3-of-5 behind the 3-point line for a unit that was 13-of-24 from long distance overall.

Marks, who has at least shared the scoring lead for the Broncos in five of the last six games, is responsible for 15.4 ppg as he shoots 52.0 percent beyond the arc in his eight appearances. But more than just a scorer, Marks is also first on the unit with 29 assists and 13 steals, while his 4.0 rpg is third. Anthony Drmic accounts for another 15.0 ppg and is tied for the lead on the glass with five per contest. As a group, the Broncos are shooting a solid 40.3 percent out on the perimeter, leading to 75.0 ppg.

The Thunderbirds have certainly taken advantage of their last two opponents, but this time around the competition is far from average and should have little trouble taking down SUU.