CEDAR CITY, Utah, Dec. 21 ­­­- Ryan Brimley scored a career-high 26 points, 24 of them in the second half, as Southern Utah snapped a six-game losing streak with a 76-65 win over UC Riverside Monday night.

            SUU improved to 4-8 with the win while UCR dipped to 6-5.

            Midway through the first half it looked as if the Thunderbirds might be on their way to their ninth loss of the season as they fell behind 25-19 on a Bryson Hampton layup with 7:28 to go.  Davis Baker hit a 3-pointer to pull SUU within three, however, and four straight free throws, two by Jackson Stevenett and two more from Matt Hodgson, gave the Thunderbirds the lead, 26-25, and they never trailed again.

            The Thunderbirds held a 35-34 lead at halftime and led 38-34 after Baker hit a three for the first points of the second half.

            Baker, Southern Utah's leading scorer coming into the game, picked up his fourth foul with 17:40 to play, however, and went out of the game with 16 of the team's 38 points.

            Brimley picked up the slack, however, hitting back-to-back threes to keep the Highlanders at bay, 44-38.

            UC Riverside stayed close and pulled within 50-49 on a put-back basket by Kyle Austin, but Brimley again rose to the occasion, scoring on a layup and a 3-pointer, then hitting a pair of free throws to extend the SUU lead to 57-49.

            The Highlanders then scored five straight on a dunk and a 3-pointer but Brimley answered with another three, then after a UCR miss Drew Allen hit his second three of the night to extend the SUU lead to nine points with 5:47 to go and the Highlanders never got within six the rest of the way.

            "I'm really pleased with the way we responded in the second half, especially with Davis on the bench in foul trouble," SUU Coach Roger Reid said. "Davis only played 20 minutes and he finished with 16 points but when he was on the bench Ryan [Brimley] really stepped up when we needed it. He hit some tough shots and he hit them at crucial times.

            "We also had a good effort on the defensive end in the second half, after we didn't defend so well in the first half," Reid added, pointing out that the Thunderbirds allowed UC Riverside to connect on 15-of-31 shots in the first half but limited the Highlanders to just 9-of-32 in the second.

            "We did a much better job getting out to shooters after halftime," he said. "And we defended much better in the paint as well."

            Southern Utah, on the other hand, hit 22-of-42 shots, or 52.4 percent, the T-Birds' best effort against a Division I team this season. UC Riverside wound up hitting 24-of-63 shots, or 38.1 percent.

            The Thunderbirds also hit 22-of-28 free throws, while the Highlanders connected on just 12-of-27.