Portland, OR – Southern Utah used an 18-point mid-game run to take control of the contest with Portland State at Viking Pavilion and came away with a 68-58 Big Sky Conference win.
 
The first-place Thunderbirds won their eighth game in a row behind the dynamic duo of John Knight III and Tevian Jones. Those two combined for 47 of Southern Utah's 68 points. On the Portland State side, a hot start soon vanished as the Vikings lost at home for the first time in a month.
 
SUU is now 18-3 on the season, 11-2 in the Big Sky. PSU is 9-11 overall, 6-7 in the Big Sky and in sixth place with one game to go before the Big Sky Tournament. PSU will need a win in that game, also against the Thunderbirds, to hold on to the sixth seed and get a matchup with 11^th-place Idaho in the first round.
 
The Vikings had it all going their way in the first half. PSU hit four early three-pointers and led 25-13 with 6:28 to play. James Scott had 12 points in the first 14 minutes to pace the Vikings. But they went cold, missing their next nine shots and sprinkling in four turnovers to close out the half.
 
The Thunderbirds took advantage with a 16-0 run to lead 29-25 at halftime. 
 
Southern Utah extended the run to 18 points with the first basket of the second half. The Vikings managed to come back and tie the game at 35-35 with 14:41 to play. But a 23-9 run over the next eight minutes, sparked by Knight, put the T-Birds in control. Southern Utah had its largest lead at 58-44 with 7:07 remaining in the game.
 
Ranked third in the nation in scoring and first in the Big Sky (85.7 points per game), SUU then did something surprising; they took the air out of the ball. Down the stretch, the T-Birds walked the ball up the court, ran the shot clock down inside 10 seconds and shortened the game by limiting possessions. It was a good move against a Viking team that was struggling mightily to score in the second half. Southern Utah maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way to the win.
 
The Thunderbirds managed just 22-52 from the field (.423) against a solid PSU defense. But the Vikings shot only 21-67 for the game (.313). PSU had its second-lowest point total of the season.
 
Knight had 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Southern Utah. Jones added 21 points. Maizen Fausett grabbed 13 rebounds as the Thunderbirds, also the league's top rebounding margin team, beat the Vikings on the glass 43-41.
 
Scott scored 20 points for Portland State. He also had eight rebounds and three assists. Elijah Hardy came off the bench to score 15 points with four rebounds.

GAME NOTES: The Vikings have not allowed an opponent to score more than 70 points in 12 games… Scott had his fourth 20-point game of the season… fouls limited starting Viking big men Khalid Thomas and Jacob Eyman to 23 and 17 minutes, respectively… Portland State is now 7-5 at home this season… Portland State and Southern Utah meet again on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. at Viking Pavilion.  The game can be seen on Pluto TV Channel 1051, www.Pluto.tv, www.WatchBigSky.com. Live stats are available at www.ViksLive.com.