Southern Utah's men's basketball team will look to bounce back from its worst loss of the season Saturday night when the Thunderbirds host South Dakota State at 7:30 p.m. in the Centrum.
    The Thunderbirds (5-12, 3-3 Summit) ran into a hot North Dakota State squad Thursday night and the result was a 76-53 T-Bird loss. The team was hoping to have some momentum after a 66-50 win at UMKC last Saturday, but the Bison doused those hopes.
    South Dakota State (8-11, 3-4 Summit) is also coming off a loss, a 69-67 setback at UMKC on Thursday night, which snapped a two-game winning streak and kept the Jackrabbits winless on the road in conference games. SDSU had swept Western Illinois and IUPUI at home last week and was looking for its first three-game winning streak since moving to NCAA Division I competition.

    The Game: South Dakota State (8-11, 3-4) at Southern Utah (5-12, 3-3), Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (MST) in the Centrum Arena.
 
    Radio: All of Southern Utah men's basketball games are broadcast live by KSUU (91.1 FM) and KSUB AM (590) as well as on the internet at www.suu.edu/ksuu. Art Challis is in his 35th season as the Thunderbirds' basketball play-by-play voice.

    TV: There will be no live TV of Saturday's game but video highlights will be available via SUU's ftp site. Video highlight packages of all Thunderbird home Summit League games are be available to legitimate media outlets via the SUU ftp site. For more information on obtaining the highlight packages contact SUU director of athletic media relations Neil Gardner at 435-586-7753 or at gardner@suu.edu.

    Webstreaming: All of SUU's regular-season home games and road Summit League games will be available over the internet through the SUU website site. Complete packages, including SUU men's and women's games, are available for just $29.95. For more information, go to www.suutbirds.com.

    The Series: Southern Utah and South Dakota State have met just two times on the hardwood and the series is evenly split at 1-1. Last year, in SDSU's first season in The Summit League, the ?Jacks claimed a 66-62 home win in Brookings, S.D. in the first meeting, then SUU evened the score with a 77-71 win in Cedar City.

    Next Up: The Thunderbirds travel to Centenary and Oral Roberts for a Thursday-Saturday swing against the resurgent Gentlemen and the league-leading Golden Eagles.

    Practice Schedule: When at home the Thunderbirds work out daily from 2:00-4:30 p.m. in the Centrum, with occasional adjustments for class schedules and other considerations. Practice sessions are generally open to the public but media personnel wishing to attend practice should contact SUU Sports Information Director Neil Gardner at (435) 586-7753 prior to practice.

    The Coaches: Head Coach Roger Reid (Weber State ?68) is 16-31 in his second season on the Thunderbird bench. He takes a career Division I mark of 166-107 into Thursday's game.
    Coach Reid's career has spanned virtually every level of the coaching strata, including the high school, junior college, and NCAA Division I levels as well as in the NBA and international ranks. He is probably best known for his success at Brigham Young University, where he led the Cougars to five NCAA tournament berths and three Western Athletic Conference championships. He has also coached the Phoenix Suns of the NBA and the Hangzhou Horses of the Chinese Basketball Association. Reid coached Snow College to a conference title and a No. 18 national ranking in his final season on the bench there.
    Reid is assisted by Ron Carling (BYU ?70), a 37-year coaching veteran who is also in his second season with the program; Johnny Brown (New Mexico ?86), a 15-year veteran of the coaching ranks who is also in his second year in Cedar City; and first-year assistant Kenya Crandell (Nebraska-Kearney ?96) who is in his 12th season as a collegiate coach.

    National Rankings: The Thunderbirds moved into second place in the NCAA Division I rankings for free throw shooting after hitting 16-of-18 (all in the second half) at UMKC last Saturday. SUU is connecting at a 79.4 percent rate, second only to UC Davis at .817. SUU also ranks among the top-100 in two more categories: 12th in 3-point percentage defense (.281) and 35th in overall field goal percentage (.476).
    Individually, two Thunderbirds rank among the nation's top-100: Davis Baker ranks sixth in free throw percentage, at (.909), while Tyler Quinney is 57th at .849. Baker also ranks 72nd in points per game at 18.0 ppg.

Player of the Week
    Tyler Quinney has been named this week's Summit League player of the week after his performance in SUU's win at UMKC last week. Quinney co-led the team with 24 points and was second on the team with eight rebounds. He hit 9-of-14 shots and all six of his free throws, turned the ball over just once and didn't take a seat until the final 30 seconds when the game was well in hand. He also scored 10 points in a second half run that turned a 32-32 tie into a 16-point Thunderbird lead and effectively put the game away. Quinney is SUU's first player of the week this season.


T-Bird Notes:

•     John Clifford was the Thunderbirds' biggest weapon against North Dakota State. Cliff recorded his third triple-double of the season with 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds and he tied his career-high with three blocks vs. the Bison. Clifford's 15 rebounds vs. NDSU tied the single-game high by a Summit League player this season. Clifford leads The Summit League in a pair of statistical categories and is among the league's top five in two more: He is tops in field goal percentage at .660 and in rebounding with 7.6 per game; Clifford is also second in offensive rebounds, with 2.8 per game and third in defensive rebounds at 4.8 per contest. He also is among the league-leaders in free throw percentage, where he is 14th, and he is 25th in scoring at 10.2 ppg. He has led or co-led the team in rebounding 11 times this season, including five of the last six. Clifford narrowly missed a double-double at IUPUI where he scored 10 points and pulled down nine rebounds after notching his second career double-double against Sacramento State when he tied his then-career-high with 13 rebounds and scored 14 points.     
•      Davis Baker was the only Thunderbird other than Clifford in double figures vs. NDSU, with 11 points. He is second in The Summit League in free throw percentage (.909), fourth in scoring (18.0 ppg), 10th in 3-point percentage (.379), 12th in overall field goal percentage (.478) and 20th in rebounding (4.8 rpg). Baker has scored in double figures in all but two games this season and has led or co-led the team in scoring nine times and in rebounding five. The only games he was held under 10 points were in the season-opener vs. Mesa State, when foul trouble limited him to four points, and the Utah State game when he had five.
•     Tyler Quinney is third in The Summit League in free throw percentage, at 84.9 percent and ninth in field goal percentage (.490); he is also 10th in scoring (15.3 ppg) and 15th in rebounding (5.6 rpg). Quinney has scored in double figures in all but four games this season, but he had a string of 11 straight snapped vs. NDSU when he finished with eight points. Quinney's 35-points vs. Oakland are the second-most in a game by a Summit League player this season.
•     Dave Marek is sixth in The Summit League in 3-point percentage, at .429, and eighth in assists, with 3.0 per game. Marek scored nine points vs. NDSU and had four assists to give him 15 dimes in the last three games.  
•     Jake Nielson struggled offensively vs. NDSU but had given the Thunderbirds a boost off the bench at UMKC. He scored just seven points but his 3-pointer early in the second half broke a 32-32 tie and gave the team the lead for good. He also had a team-high two steals and dished out a career-best four assists.  
•     Guard Mike Josserand is fifth in the conference in assists with 3.9 per game. He didn't record a dime vs, NDSU and had just one at UMKC, however, after foul troubles limited him to a season-low six minutes of playing time vs. the ?Roos.
•     Drew Allen got the first block of his career at UMKC.  
•     North Dakota State hit 32-of-57 shots (56.1 percent) and 10-of-18 3-pointers (.556), the best percentages by an SUU opponent this season. The Bison also held the Thunderbirds to a season-low 31.5 field goal percentage.
•     SUU's win at UMKC was the team's first when shooting under 50 percent from the floor. The Thunderbirds hit 24-of-49 shots vs. the ?Roos, to finish just under .500 at 49.0. It was also the first time the team has won when scoring fewer than 70 points and the first time SUU and its opponent's rebounding totals were even (32-32).
•     UMKC's 50 points were an opponent low for the Thunderbirds this season, as were the ?'Roos' 16 field goals and their 30.8 field goal percentage.
•     The Thunderbirds tied their season low with just two 3-pointers at UMKC; the .200 accuracy rate (2-10) was also a season-low. SUU also had two threes at Tennessee Tech but took just eight attempts.
•     The Thunderbirds' loss at Western Illinois was their third setback when shooting better than 50 percent as well as when out-shooting the opponent. SUU hit 20-of-40 shots vs. the Leathernecks, while WIU converted 23-of-48 (.479). SUU hit 21-of-39 shots (the 39 attempts were a season-low) at Utah Valley, or 53.8 percent, while the Wolverines hit 26-of-52 shots (.500). UC Riverside was the other game the ?Birds lost when shooting 50 percent or better and outshooting the opposition. SUU shot .561 at UCR, to .532 for the Highlanders.
•     Guard Eules Thompson has been dismissed from the team. Forward Kemo Duncan was declared ineligible because of his participation with a semi-professional league.

    Jackrabbit Notes: South Dakota State hasn't won more than two games in a row all season but the ?Jacks haven't lost more than three straight. SDSU was the first team to hand Western Illinois a conference loss, and since the 64-55 setback WIU hasn't won again. the ?Jacks are 1-8 on the road (just like SUU), with the one win coming at Iowa State, a 65-58 triumph back on Dec. 23.
    Three ?Jacks carry double figure scoring averages, led by guard Garrett Callahan, who scores at a 16.6 points per game clip. Guard Clint Sargent averages 14.4 ppg while forwards Anthony Cordova and Kai Williams are at 10.4 and 9.6 ppg, respectively. Williams leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game, and Cordova pulls down 6.7.
    As a team, SDSU averages 69.1 points per game on .439 shooting (.362 threes) while allowing opponents an average of 69.6 points on .469 shooting (.347 threes). The ?Jacks have knocked down 67.8 percent of their free throws and have out-rebounded opponents by an average of 33.9-to-32.8 per game.