Head Coach Roger Reid (Weber State '68) is in his fourth season on the SUU bench this year after spending the previous two at Snow College.

Reid takes a career Division I mark of 184-146, including a 32-70 record at SUU, into the game. His record includes six years as head coach at Brigham Young.

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 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 39-year coaching veteran who is also in his fourth season with the program; Johnny Brown (New Mexico '86), a 17-year veteran of the coaching ranks who is in his fourth year in Cedar City; and assistant Kenya Crandell (Nebraska-Kearney '96) who is in his 14th season as a collegiate coach and his third year at SUU.

After falling behind by 10 at halftime vs. Fresno State, NDSU rallied in the second half and held a 69-67 lead with 5:35 to play but the Bulldogs went on a 15-0 run to ruin the Bison' upset hopes. The teams have one common opponent, UC Davis, who NDSU beat by five at home and SUU lost to on the road, by nine.

Senior forward Michael Tveidt (6-7, 210), a pre-season all-conference pick, leads the Bison in scoring at 14.2 points per game, while Eric Carlson (F, 6-6, 220, Jr), who also earned pre-season honors, averages 11.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Freddy Coleman (G, 6-2, 225, Sr) co-leads the team in rebounding at 6.2 caroms per game while scoring at a 10.5 ppg clip, and Marshall Bjorklund (F, 6-8, 230, Fr) also pulls down 6.2 rpg and averages 10.2 ppg. Carlson leads the team with 2.5 assists per game while Coleman averages 2.4.

As a team NDSU leads the country in 3-point shooting, at 44.6 percent, and is 39th in overall field goal percentage, at .478. The Bison average 78.0 points per game while allowing 69.7 on .413 shooting (.313 threes). NDSU has out-rebounded its opponents by an average of 38.9-to-33.5 per game and has converted 65.9 percent of its free throw attempts.

• Damon Heuir got his first start of the season at UC Davis. His response was to score a career-high 18 points, hitting 8-of-15 shots, including 2-of-6 3-pointers in 26 minutes on the floor. he also dished out three assists and pulled down a rebound without committing a turnover. Heuir started in place of Jordan Weirick, who scored five points and pulled down a rebound coming off the bench.

• Freshman Kyle Davis also got the first start of his collegiate career at Davis. He didn't score but he had four rebounds in 12 minutes on the floor. Davis started in place of junior Matt Massey, who played well coming off the bench with 11 points (on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor and hitting 5-of-6 free throws), five rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block in 25 minutes.

• The Thunderbirds teamed for a season-high six 3-pointers and 10 steals at UC Davis. The previous high for threes was five, at Oakland, while the previous steals high was seven, a figure the team had reached four times this season. Heuir hit two threes, while Weirick, Ramell Taylor, Ryan Brimley and Jake Nielson each hit one. Ray Jones, Jr., led the squad with three steals, with Nielson, Massey and Matt Hodgson each getting two and Tyson Koehler picking off one.

• SUU attempted a season-low 11 free throws at UC Davis, making nine of them, also a season-low. The previous low for both attempts and makes was 9-of-15, versus Houston Baptist and at IPFW.

• The Thunderbirds' 15 turnovers at UC Davis were their second-fewest of the season, behind the 12 at Cal State Bakersfield.

• The Thunderbirds have just one non-conference game remaining, at home vs. Cal State Bakersfield on Feb. 2.

• Hodgson started all 29 of the team's games last year and the first nine this season but he came off the bench for the first time against Panhandle State and in the two subsequent games. He has responded well to the change: although his scoring average has dipped to 4.3 points per game in those contests he has averaged 8.3 rebounds, two blocks and a steal since coming off the bench. He has either led or co-led the team in rebounding in all three of the games in which he came off the bench.

• Bench Marks: Ryan Brimley came off the bench to lead the team in scoring against both Weber State and Panhandle State. He scored a season-high 18 points vs. Weber St. after coming off the bench to hit 6-of-11 shots, including 2-of-6 threes, and all four of his free throws. Brimley followed that performance with a 16-point night against Panhandle St.

• Bench Marks, Add One: Brimley and Hodgson aren't the only Thunderbirds who have been making an impact off the bench lately. SUU's bench has outscored the opposition in six straight games and seven of the last eight. The Thunderbird reserves scored a then-season-high 28 points at Oakland, with Koehler and Brimley each finishing with 12. Koehler was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor while Brimley hit 4-of-5 3-pointers in the second half. At IPFW the SUU reserves scored 26 points, including 10 from Koehler and seven each from Nielson and Davis. The bench came up particularly big against Weber State, when Brimley scored 18 points, Koehler had eight points and a team-best six rebounds, Davis had seven points, Stevenett scored six, Nielson five and Damon Heuir two as the Thunderbird reserves scored 48 of the team's 71 points. The reserves were again a story against Panhandle State, when 33 of the team's 68 points and 26 of the team's 46 rebounds came from non-starters. Brimley's 16 points led the way against the Aggies while Hodgson pulled down a team and personal-season-high 10 rebounds in his first appearance off the bench in his SUU career. At UNLV SUU's reserves outscored the Rebels 29-to-26, as Brian Cameron scored a season-best five and Davis matched his total. SUU's bench players scored 33 points to UC Davis' 22, with Nielson scoring 12 and Massey 11.

• Block Party: The Thunderbirds combined to block a school-record 13 shots against Panhandle State. Kyle Davis led the way with four rejections, while four more Thunderbirds, Matt Massey, Tyson Koehler, Jackson Stevenett and Hodgson each swatted a pair. Jake Nielson  got in on the action as well, blocking one shot. The previous high by the team came back in December of 2006 when Brad Kanis blocked 10 shots, to set both the school's individual and team records.