Southern Utah's men's basketball team wraps up a three-game Summit League road trip Tuesday night when the Thunderbirds take on IPFW. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum, the site of the Thunderbirds' Summit League (ne: Mid-Continent Conference) men's basketball championship back in 2001.

SUU Coach Roger Reid will be shooting for his 200th career win Tuesday night.

The Thunderbirds (7-6/2-1 Summit League) have won three straight after posting a 91-77 win at UMKC on Friday. In the last three game the Thunderbirds topped UC Davis at home, 62-51, got an overtime road win at South Dakota (81-75) and won at UMKC. The win over USD was SUU's first in Summit League play (they lost a 61-55 decision at Oral Roberts on Dec. 3) as well as the team's first on the road this season.

IPFW (7-6, 1-3 Summit League) will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak Tuesday night. The Mastodons, who are coming off an 84-68 road loss at North Dakota State, had won five in a row before road losses at Purdue (81-56), South Dakota State (94-58) and NDSU.

The Game: SUU (7-6/2-1) at IPFW (7-6, 1-3), Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. (EST), Memorial Coliseum (5,800), Ft. Wayne, Ind.

Radio: All Southern Utah men's basketball games are broadcast live by KSUU (91.1 FM) as well as on the internet at www.suu.edu/ksuu. Art Challis is in his 39th season as the Thunderbirds' basketball play-by-play voice. Dr. Challis is joined on home and selected road broadcasts by former SUU standout Dean O'Driscoll.

The Series: Tuesday's game will be the 10th meeting between SUU and IPFW. The Mastodons hold a 6-3 edge in the series, including a 4-0 mark in home games, one win in Cedar City and one neutral court win in Tulsa, Okla., in The Summit League tournament. All three of SUU's wins over the 'Dons have come in Cedar City.

Practice Schedule: When at home the practice schedule calls for the team to work out at 3:00 p.m. daily. Contact SUU Director of Athletic Media Relations Neil Gardner for more information.

Media Availability: Players and coaches are available for interviews on Tuesdays prior to practice, between 2:30-3:00 p.m., with occasional adjustments due to scheduling conflicts. To contact a player or coach on another day or time contact Neil Gardner at gardner@suu.edu or 435-586-7753.

Video Highlights: Video highlights of SUU's Summit League home games will be available to accredited media outlets via SUU's FTP site. For information on the schedule and obtaining those highlights contact SUU Director of Athletic Media Relations Neil Gardner.

Affiliations: Southern Utah is in its 15th and final season in The Summit League. All but two of SUU's sports compete in The Summit, with football a member of the Great West Conference and gymnastics an affiliate member of the Western Athletic Conference. Most of SUU's programs will move into the Big Sky Conference in 2012. UMKC is also a member of The Summit League.

Videostreaming/Live Stats at www.suutbirds.com: All of Southern Utah's 2011-12 men's basketball home games will be video-streamed on the SUU athletic website at www.suutbirds.com. Live stats for all home games and most road games will also be available. Video streams are on a pay basis but there is no cost for live stats.

Thunderbird Club Luncheons: The Thunderbird Club's weekly no-host luncheon is held Mondays at noon in the Tradition Room in the home of President Michael Benson. The public is invited to attend the luncheons where Southern Utah's in-season coaches talk about their upcoming contests and review the past week's action.

Next Up: SUU returns home to host South Dakota State in the Thunderbirds' Summit League home-opener on Thursday night. North Dakota State visits the Centrum on Saturday. Next week the team hits the road again, for league games at IUPUI and Western Illinois.

The Coaches: 

Captains: This year's captains are SUU's three seniors: Ray Jones, Jr., Matt Massey, and Ramell Taylor.

Thunderbird Notes:

• Ramell Taylor tied his season scoring high with a team-high 21 points at UMKC. He also led the team with 21 at Troy, one shy of his career-high (vs. Utah State last year). Taylor has paced the team in scoring in three of the last four games and in rebounding in two of them.
• All five starters scored in double-figures at UMKC and all five are now averaging double-figures in Summit League games. It was the first time this season the team had five players score in double figures.
• The Thunderbirds hit 35-of-56 shots at UMKC. The 62.5 shooting percentage is the team's second-best this season. SUU hit 39-of-59 shots vs. Bryant , 66.1 percent. Taylor knocked down 9-of-12 shots while Matt Massey hit 7-of-11 and Ray Jones, Jr., hit 4-of-5. Tyson Koehler came off the bench and hit 3-of-4 shots after not playing since the game at Weber State.
• SUU dominated the boards at UMKC, pulling down 35 rebounds to the 'Roos' 14. The plus-21 differential is the team's best this season, bettering its +20 (43-23) vs. UC Davis in the season-opener. All but two T-Birds had at least one rebound vs. the 'Roos. Taylor had a team-high seven and Stevenett had six.
• Southern Utah attempted a season-low two 3-pointers at UMKC, both by Damon Heuir, and didn't hit either. It marks the third time this season the team has not converted a 3-point attempt.
• The T-Birds converted 21-of-23 free throws at UMKC. The .913 conversion rate is the team's best this season.
• Since hitting just 13-of-26 free throws against Southern Virginia the Thunderbirds haven't been below 70 percent from the line, a span of seven games. SUU hit 10-of-11 free throws at Troy, for a then-season-high 90.9 percent conversion rate. Prior to the Troy game the best effort was 13-of-15 at Oral Roberts (.867). The Thunderbirds tied their season-high with 23 made free throws vs. UC Davis.
• SUU's free throw percentage has improved from 66.4 to 73.4 since the Southern Virginia game.
• Heading into the week Ray Jones, Jr., ranked 24th in the nation in assists, with an average of 6.0 per game. As a team the Thunderbirds rank 25th in the nation and atop The Summit League with an average of 16.3 dimes per game. The team's 49.0 field goal percentage ranks 18th in the nation and is second in The League.
• Four T-Birds sport double-figure scoring averages: Stevenett at 12.8, Taylor at 13.2 ppg, Heuir at 11.3 and Massey at 11.2 while Jones averages 9.3 ppg. In conference games Stevenett is averaging 20.3, Heuir is at 12.5, Taylor scores 12.0 per game and both Massey and Jones check in at 11.0 ppg.
• Taylor leads the team in rebounding, with 5.2 per game, while Stevenett averages 4.8 and Jones pulls down 4.5.
• The Thunderbirds have out-rebounded their opponents by a 32.9-28.5 average. SUU has 212 assists, an average of 16.31 a game and 66 more than its opponents combined.
• Jackson Stevenett scored a career-high 26 points at South Dakota and Ray Jones, Jr., dished out nine assists, one shy of his career-best.
• Julian Scott also had a career-scoring-high, with nine points at USD, he tied his rebounding best with three and blocked his first shot as a T-Bird. Scott played a career-high 23 minutes vs. the Coyotes as well.
• SUU combined for 18 assists at USD and again at UMKC, the T-Birds' most since dishing out 20 dimes at home against Troy on Nov. 26 and their most away from home since dishing out 29 vs. Bryant on Nov. 13. Eighteen assists are the team's most in a true road game this season, bettering the 16 at Weber State, and the most on the road since combining for 18 at South Dakota State last January 29.
• Three Thunderbirds, Heuir, Jones and Stevenett played 43 of the 45 minutes at South Dakota.
• SUU didn't allow South Dakota a field goal in overtime; the Coyotes scored their five points in the period from the free throw line.
• The USD game was SUU's first overtime tilt since an 85-79 home win over North Dakota State on Jan. 7, 2010, and Coach Roger Reid's first overtime road win at SUU. The T-Birds' last road win in an extra session was on Dec. 12, 2004, when they were victorious at Idaho State, 82-79.