Cedar City, UT – A late 13-point run by Southern Utah allowed the Thunderbirds to pull away from a pesky Portland State Vikings team and pick up an 86-76 Big Sky Conference win at America First Arena.
 
That T-Bird charge down the stretch nullified one of the best performances of the season by PSU. In fact, the Vikings had their best shooting night since November, made a season-high 12 three-point field goals, and were within a point (70-69) with 5:30 to go.
 
That's when Southern Utah, the defending Big Sky regular season champion, took over. Tevian Jones and Maizen Fausett combined to score all 13 points over the next four minutes.
 
PSU could not recover and took the loss on the road. The Vikings did earn a split after a win at Sacramento State on Saturday and are now 4-9 overall, 2-3 in the Big Sky. PSU, which has played only one home games since Dec. 11, can look ahead to four straight games at Viking Pavilion.
 
Viking guard Ezekiel Alley scored a season-high 16 points, hitting 5-9 from the field, 4-5 from three-point range and 2-2 at the line. Alley also had five assists in 22 minutes of action. Khalid Thomas matched Alley for team honors with 16 points, making 6-12 shots, 4-9 from distance. He added a team-best five rebounds.
 
Michael Carter III went for 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
The Vikings shot 27-59 from the field (.458) and made a season-high 12-25 from three-point range (.480).
 
A strong offensive effort was needed as Southern Utah went into the game as the Big Sky's top scoring team. The Thunderbirds had a brilliant shooting night, hitting 32-52 from the field (.615) and 7-17 from distance (.412). Fausett scored 21 points with 10 rebounds. Jones and Harrison Butler each had 18 points for the T-Birds.
 
Southern Utah improved to 10-5 overall. The Thunderbirds are 4-1 and tied for first in the Big Sky.
 
After the Vikings jumped to a 7-0 start early in the contest, Southern Utah went on a 20-6 run. Aanen Moody hit three straight three-pointers to spark the Thunderbirds. SUU had only four points in the opening six minutes, but then scored 20 in the next six minutes.
 
Portland State weathered that run and battled back behind strong play from the bench. After trailing 24-15 with 8:55 left in the half, PSU got the game to a 39-39 tie at intermission. The Vikings got 21 points off the bench, led by eight from Alley. PSU's bench made 6-10 from the field, 3-4 from three-point range and 6-6 at the line in the first half.
 
The Vikings led 55-52 after a pair of Marlon Ruffin free throws at the 13:19 mark of the second half. But the Thunderbirds ran off 11 straight points and appeared to take charge with a 63-55 lead.
 
But the three-point shooting of Alley and Thomas brought the Vikings back. Over the next five minutes each hit a pair from behind the arc. A Thomas three at the 5:30 mark trimmed the deficit to 70-69.
 
That would be all for the offense though as the Vikings followed with five straight empty possessions and Southern Utah went on the 13-point rally.
 

GAME NOTES

• SR F James Jean-Marie played for the first time since before the holiday break. Jean-Marie had 10 points and three rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
• The 76 points scored were the most against a Division I opponent this season.
• Zeke Alley had his PSU season high for the second straight game (13 at Sacramento State)
• Portland State comes home for four straight games beginning this week. The Vikings host Montana on Thursday night at Viking Pavilion, followed by Montana State on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7 p.m. and air on ESPN+.