Cedar City, Utah – Scoring in bunches was the theme of the game, as both teams used runs to establish leads throughout the night.

Southern Utah's Trey Kennedy scored the first four points for the Thunderbirds, and the Southern Utah defense held Northern Arizona without a field goal until the 16:00 mark. Southern Utah rode the momentum to take an early 11-4 lead, but consecutive Northern Arizona baskets cut the Thunderbird lead to just three points at 13:45 mark.

Southern Utah responded with a run of their own, scoring the next six points to make the score 17-6.

“We got off to a great start,” said Southern Utah head coach, Nick Robinson. “Amazing crowd, amazing momentum. It was a great night here in the Centrum, initially.”

The first half luck for the Thunderbirds ran out there, however, as turnovers and poor shooting plagued the Thunderbirds. Northern Arizona was able to capitalize on Southern Utah's inconsistent play and went on a 20-2 run that lasted about seven minutes before the Thunderbirds showed life again.

For the final 3:30 of the first half, both teams swapped baskets to bring the score heading into halftime 36-29, a seven point Northern Arizona lead.

Northern Arizona started the second half hot, going on another 7-0 run, before a Race Parsons three pointer cut the Lumberjack lead to 11 points. After going scoreless in the first half, Parsons scored the first five points of the second half for the Thunderbirds.

Southern Utah was able to establish some momentum, as they went on a 15-2 run of their own over six minutes, which tied the game at 47. Southern Utah senior forward, Casey Oliverson, credited the run to defensive effort.

“It all started off on defense,” he commented. “We were best tonight when we were playing defense and able to run.”

A 15-foot jump shot by Northern Arizona's Mike Green halted Southern Utah's run, returning the lead to the Lumberjacks.

A pair of Casey Oliverson free throws gave Southern Utah their first lead since early in the first half, making the game 54-53 for the Thunderbirds. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Lumberjacks scored on the ensuing possession.

Northern Arizona's Torry Johnson came alive for the Lumberjacks in the last five minutes of the game, scoring all five of his points on consecutive possessions, putting the Lumberjacks up 64-58.

With one minute left in the game, the Lumberjacks held a 66-60 lead. Northern Arizona's Kris Yanku extended the lead to eight points, before Southern Utah's Travon Langston was fouled on a successful layup attempt and converted his free throw, to make the game 68-63 with 39.1 seconds left.

That basket would prove to be the last for the Thunderbirds, however, as they failed to convert on their final three possessions. Northern Arizona converted successfully on five-of-six foul shots to close out the game for a 73-63 victory.

For Coach Robinson, it was clear why the Thunderbirds let this game slip away.

“Northern Arizona kicked our tails on the glass tonight,” he said. “They out rebounded us and they did a nice job of making adjustments throughout the game.”

Trey Kennedy led the Thunderbirds with 15 points and three assists. Casey Oliverson added 14 points and six rebounds. Northern Arizona was led by Marcus Deberry, who led all scorers with 18 points on 60% shooting.