CEDAR CITY, Utah, Jan. 31 ? Southern Utah squandered almost all of a 15 point second-half lead Saturday night, but the Thunderbirds held on to defeat Western Illinois 66-65 when David DuBois' 10-foot jumper and two subsequent tip-in attempts in the final seconds didn't find the mark.
    Southern Utah led the entire game, but didn't score in the final 3:23 and when Ceola Clark's 3-pointer from the top of the key went down with 44 seconds to go the Leathernecks were within 66-65.
    Southern Utah wound the clock down on its ensuing possession but Dave Marek's runner in the lane was blocked by James Granstra and Clark corralled the rebound with eight seconds to go. WIU pushed the ball up court, where Marek knocked the ball away from Josh Rivers and to teammate Davis Baker, but Baker was tied up by DuBois with three seconds on the clock.
    The possession arrow was pointing Western's way, setting up DuBois' short jumper as time wound down but the shot was short. DuBois was able to tip the ball back up to the basket but again it was short, them Clark had a final chance to tip it in but his attempt was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
    “These guys are trying to give me a heart attack,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said after the game. “[Western Illinois] was hitting shots all night long, especially down the stretch in the second half, but we were fortunate to have the ball bounce our way this time. DuBois had a great night against us earlier this year at their place and he had a chance to put us away again tonight but it didn't happen.”
    Clark was the story for the Leathernecks, scoring 19 of his game-high 24 points in the final 9:19. He hit five threes, a pair of free throws and a layup to account for 19 of WIU's final 23 points.
    “Clark really lit us up down the stretch,” Reid pointed out. “He was hitting some long threes and we didn't always get out to contest his shots. If he got an opening in the second half he was able to make the shot.”
    Baker led Southern Utah's scorers with 23 points, breaking a two-game stretch where he failed to score in double figures, while Marek finished with 13 points and Jake Nielson added 10. Marek also had five assists and a pair of steals.
    Southern Utah was able to out-rebound WIU 29-22, including a 10-7 edge on the offensive end. John Clifford had eight rebounds to lead SUU, while Clark had seven to pace the Leathernecks.
    The Thunderbirds improved to 5-6 in Summit League play (7-15 overall) to remain in a three-way tied for fifth place in the conference, along with IUPUI and South Dakota State. WIU dipped to 4-7 in league games (7-15 overall) to fall out of the tie for sixth and into eighth place all alone.

-- SUU --