The Thunderbirds (11-17, 7-10 Summit League) notch their third straight win and their fourth in the last five games after shooting 60 percent from the floor and outscoring IPFW (17-11, 10-7 Summit League) 38-18 from inside the paint. Freshman forward Kyle Davis led the way with game-highs of 18 points and eight rebounds whole junior point guard Ray Jones Jr. finished with 16 points. Sophomore guard Jackson Stevenett added 15 points and four blocks while junior forward Matt Massey recorded 10 points and grabbed six boards.

"I am really proud of our effort tonight. We came out with a great attitude and did a great job of running the floor and executing on both ends to get a good team win," stated head coach Roger Reid. "Kyle and Jackson played very well. They gave us some confidence early and everybody played well off of them. I really like how were are playing right now as we close in on the conference tournament."

The Thunderbirds were off and running in the early minutes, scoring the games first eight points and then using a Davis three to open up an 11-3 lead. SUU would continue to use its defensive pressure and attack the basket on the offensive end to open up a double-digit lead midway through the half. Jones Jr. highlighted a 10-3 run with eight points during that stretch that saw the Thunderbirds build a 21-9 lead at the 13:11 mark.

The Mastodons battled back with a 6-0 spurt of their own to cut the SUU lead to eight with 6:09 remaining but the Thunderbird bench provide a big boost in the final minutes. Junior forward Ramell Taylor came off the bench and quickly contributed, slamming home a rebound to bring the Centrum Arena crowd to its feet and end the IPFW run. The dunk spurned a 14-4 SUU run to close the half as Taylor added a pair of jumpers and Stevenett had a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays to send Southern Utah into the half up 43-25.

Jones Jr. led all players with 10 first half points while Davis added nine and Taylor had six for the Thunderbirds who shot 57 percent from the field. The SUU defense held IPFW to 29 percent shooting and owned a 21-11 rebounding advantage through the first 20 minutes.

The Thunderbirds continued to play well on both ends of the floor in the second half, forcing IPFW into tough shots, grabbing rebounds and attacking the basket. After trading baskets in the opening minutes, Stevenett caught fire for the Thunderbirds, connecting on jumpers in three consecutive trips down the floor to extend the lead to 17, 53-36.

SUU went on to put the game out of reach with a 15-4 midway through half, building its largest lead of the game, 74-48 after a Taylor free throw at the 6:06 mark.

Taylor and senior guard Ryan Brimley each finished with nine points as SUU dished out 19 assists, its second highest total of the season.

SUU closes out the regular season hosting first-place Oakland University at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Prior to the game, the Thunderbirds will recognize their lone senior in Ryan Brimley who will be playing his final game in the Centrum Arena.