Cedar City, Utah – The Southern Utah Thunderbirds welcomed the defending Big Sky Conference Champions, the Eastern Washington Eagles, into Centrum Arena for an intense, physical game. Despite never re-capturing the lead after leading 2-0, the Thunderbirds kept the score close the entire game.

“Eastern Washington is vying for the top spot in the league as we head down the stretch and we did everything we could to minimize what they do extremely well. The guys executed on both ends well for 40 minutes tonight,” said Southern Utah head Coach Nick Robinson.

Eastern Washington captured the lead early on as both teams battled for position, jumping off to a 6-2 lead.

A Juwan Major dunk halfway through the first half pulled the Eastern Washington lead back down to just four points, but also brought the home crowd to their feet.

With five minutes left in the half, Eastern Washington started a 9-0 run that pushed their lead to 13. A Trey Kennedy three pointer ended the run and closed the gap to 35-25.

As the final seconds in the half wound down, James McGee hit another three pointer to make the game 38-29. Eastern Washington guard Austin McBroom quickly turned around and pushed down court for a last second layup. His efforts were in vain though, as Major came over for a huge block to send the Thunderbirds into the locker room with the momentum.

The Thunderbirds registered four blocks as a team in first half.

Ready to battle, Southern Utah rode the momentum into the second half, with Race Parsons hitting a three on the first possession of the half. An ensuing defensive stop was followed by a deep two by Major.

At the midway point of the second half, Trey Kennedy hit another big three to make it a four point game. The Thunderbirds found success in using a smaller lineup against the Eagles. Christian Thompson followed up with driving two to make it a one possession game, 55-53.

With about nine minutes left in the game, a loose ball transitioned into a fast break for the Eagles. Eastern Washington's Venky Jois had a clear look at the basket when Trey Kennedy committed a foul. Despite not appearing to be a malicious play, Kennedy was called for a flagrant one foul. The call gave Eastern Washington two foul shots and the ball, which they utilized to make it a six point game.

At the 4:30 mark, Eastern Washington's Julian Harrell committed his fifth and eliminating foul. Following a Parsons basket, the score was 66-60.

Parsons continued to lead the Thunderbirds in this physical battle, but Southern Utah was not able to complete the comeback, eventually falling to the Eagles, 81-67. The Thunderbirds only scored three points in the last two minutes.

Despite the loss, Coach Robinson was happy with his team's performance tonight.

“We were resilient, the guys played tough and stayed together tonight, and I was very pleased with the efforts of the T-birds.”

Parsons led the losing effort for the Thunderbirds with 18 points and seven rebounds. McGee added 15 points. Eastern Washington's Bogdan Bliznyuk finished with 26 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles. He shot 11-12 from the free throw line.