The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdrsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Summer of Thunder experience ended in disappointment for the Southern Utah Thunderbirds as they became the first visiting team to lose two games in the exhibition series which has featured its fair share of upsets.

The Providence Storms won 79-73 in the second of a four-game slate yesterday at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

In other games on yesterday’s schedule, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets won 77-69 over the CTG Knights and the Youngstown State Penguins won 79-76 over the Patron Regulators.

Kino Burrows led the Storms with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Robson Memnon had another double double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Shakwon lewis had 11 points and six assists, Justin Gardiner had 12 points and Quincy Poitier scored 10.

AJ Hess led the Thunderbirds with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Trey Kennedy had 14 points and seven assists, while Race Parsons and Travon Langston scored 12 points apiece.

Despite shooting 36 per cent from the field and 15 per cent distance, the Storms got a boost from their bench which outscored the Southern Utah reserves 34-18.

The Thunderbirds shot just 39 per cent from the field, 26 per cent from three point range and 54 per cent from the line.

The Storms led by as much as 18 at one point in the second half before the Thunderbirds made a late surge.

Kennedy made a pair at the line to trim the lead to 70-69 late in the fourth, but Burrows would respond with a three-point play to give his team a two-possession lead for the remainder of the game.

The Storms also pulled off an upset in 2014 against then national ranked University of North Carolina Tar Heels.

In their Summer of Thunder debut, a controversial goaltending call in the game’s waning moments gave the Thunderbirds their first loss of the exhibition series.

Southern Utah was called for a goaltend on Able Joseph’s floater with 13.4 seconds left to lift the PJ Stingers to a 79-77 win over the Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds failed to get off a shot on their final possession.

Joseph led a shorthanded Stingers team with a game high 21 points, six rebounds and nine assists.

Kemsey Sylvester posted a double double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, Devin Ferguson finished with 18 points and Tevin Hudson added 15 points and eight rebounds.

Kennedy led Southern Utah with 17 points, Parsons scored 13, Chris Thompson had 12 points, Hess finished with 11 and Langston chipped in with eight points and 10 rebounds.

The Stingers led nearly wire to wire and went up by 11 with just under five minutes left to play in regulation.

Southern Utah would rally late, sparked by back-to-back threes by Parsons and Hess, but missed 3-6 free throws down the stretch with an opportunity to seal the win and complete the comeback.

Langston’s tip dunk trimmed the deficit (75-71) with just under two minutes left to play.

Joseph would go to the line and miss a pair of free throws and Hess would split consecutive trips to the line to bring the Thunderbirds within two.

Kennedy gave Southern Utah their first lead of the game with his second three pointer, to go up 76-75 with under a minute left to play.

The lead was short lived as Hudson would respond with a runner to regain the lead for the Stingers, 77-76.

Parsons was fouled on the ensuing possession but made one of two at the line to tie, before Joseph’s late game heroics.