CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Firebirds of St. Katherine College would hang tough for the first 10 minutes of the game but the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (2-4) would turn up the heat to rout SKC.

The Thunderbirds came out a little slow to start the game with Cal Hanks getting the first basket for SUU. A couple of free throws later and the score would show 7-5 in favor of the Thunderbirds six minutes into the game. SUU would kick it into gear though and go on an 18-5 run to take a 15-point lead by the eight-minute media timeout. The Thunderbirds would hold a double-digit lead for the rest of the first half and take an eighteen-point lead into the break.

At the half, 13 Thunderbirds had seen some sort of playing time. Casey Oliverson and A.J. Hess led SUU with six points each. Tyler Rawson had five rebounds and three assists. SUU shot 45.5 percent but just 14.3 percent from three.

The Firebirds shot just 25 percent from the field but managed 33.3 percent from downtown. D'vaughn Mann led SKC in points in the first half with 10, the only double digit scorer on either side. The Firebirds had just one assist to eight turnovers.

SKC would come out of the locker rooms firing, but the Thunderbirds had an answer for everything. With nine minutes to play, SUU extended their lead to 66-31 and that's as close as SKC would get as the Thunderbirds closed out the night winning, 92-45.

Three Thunderbirds ended the night in double-digits, led by Oliverson with 12. Rawson pitched in 11 points and also added a team leading nine rebounds and four assists. Hess threw in 10 points and five rebounds.

SUU had just eight turnovers but had 12 assists in the win. They had 47 rebounds and finished the game shooting 51.5 percent from the field.

The Thunderbirds will face the Broncos of Boise State in Boise on Dec. 14 at 4:30 p.m.