Men's Basketball 1/27/2012 4:48:00 AM SUU Strategic Communication

Southern Utah Rallies for Ten Point Win Over UMKC

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Jan. 26 – Southern Utah erased a 13-point halftime deficit to claim a 57-47 come from behind win over visiting UMKC Thursday night. The Thunderbirds were only able to muster 20 points in the opening half but outscored the 'Roos 37-14 down the stretch to improve to 6-5 in the Summit League and 11-10 on the year. With the loss UMKC falls to 3-8 in conference play and 9-14 overall.

“This was a great game to see, our team showed unbelievable character,” said SUU head coach Roger Reid. “Our guys stuck to it and refused to quit.”

The scoring was tight early on as the two sides played to a 13-13 tie halfway through the opening period. Then, following a basket by Damon Heuir that put SUU up by two, the 'Roos ran off 11 straight to take a 24-15 edge with just under six-minutes remaining in the half.

Jackson Stevenett finally broke up the run with a basket and a free throw to pull the score to 24-18. UMKC continued to use its outside shooting to extend its advantage as Reggie Chamberlain connected on another three to help the 'Roos outscore the T-Birds 9-3 in the closing minutes to go up 33-20 at the break.

Southern Utah was able to convert just seven field goals in the first 20 minutes while committing nine turnovers. UMKC shot the ball over 50 percent from the floor in the opening period while going 4-10 from the outside. Reggie Chamberlain led the 'Roos with 11 points in the half after starting the game 3-4 from behind the arc.

The Thunderbirds started the second half with six quick points to cut the deficit to seven as Stevenett put up a jumper from the right elbow that found the bottom of the net to make the score 33-26. SUU continued to the cut into the UMKC lead and after a basket by Heuir and a two-handed flush by Ramell Taylor, the T-Birds pulled within one at 34-33.

Moments later Ray Jones Jr. knocked down a three over a defender to even the score at 38. The Thunderbird point guard then hit another pull-up jumper to put SUU out in front 40-38. SUU took control from there, outscoring UMKC by a count of 19-9 in the final minutes to set the final score at 57-47 for the Thunderbirds.

In addition to Jones' 18, SUU got 11 from both Taylor and Heuir. Stevenett finished with 10 rebounds to go with his 13 points for a double-double. Chamberlain scored 17 for UMKC and Kurt Korver chipped in a dozen.

“Ray made great decisions offensively,” commented Reid. “He was aware of the clock, the score and what we needed to do on offense.” 

After going 12-23 early on, the Kangaroos finished the game shooting just over 37 percent from the floor, while Southern Utah connected on better than 56 percent of its shots down the stretch to come back and overtake UMKC.

Southern Utah will be back in action this Saturday as part of a college basketball double header. The SUU Women will host South Dakota in the Centrum at 5 p.m. to start things off, followed immediately by the Thunderbird Men who will round out the night as they square off against the Coyotes at 7:30.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Ramell Taylor: SF; 6' 5"; Senior

#3 Damon Heuir: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#21 Jackson Stevenett: F; 6' 4"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#13 Ramell Taylor
: 6' 5"; Senior
: SF

#3 Damon Heuir
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#21 Jackson Stevenett
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F

Players Mentioned

#13 Ramell Taylor

#3 Damon Heuir

#21 Jackson Stevenett

Players Mentioned

#13 Ramell Taylor

#3 Damon Heuir

#21 Jackson Stevenett