CEDAR CITY, Utah -- In their final regular season game of the year in the America First Event Center, the Thunderbird men's basketball team knocked off Sacramento State 77-74 in a Senior Day matchup.

Seniors James McGee, Christian Musoko and Jamal Aytes were all wrapping up their careers in Cedar City, and the team was able to come together and pull out a win for the trio.  

"I'm happy, I'm sad, I'm excited," McGee said following the game. "I'm going to miss the court, the fans, I'm going to miss everything about T-Bird Nation and everything about Cedar City. It's mixed emotions, I'm trying to hold it back right now, but I'm so glad we go the win for the guys."

This was SUU's first Senior Day victory since 2012.

"You always want to make it special on senior night, and tonight we did for those guys to leave with a victory," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "Those guys are key to building the foundation of what we're trying to do."

The Hornets jumped out to an early eight point lead, but the Thunderbirds quickly climbed back into the contest. Both teams went back and forth down the stretch of the opening 20 minutes, and the Thunderbirds went into the break with a four point lead.

The game went right down to the final minutes, as the contest featured 8 ties and 12 lead changes, but the Thunderbirds made the right plays down the stretch to pull away with the victory.

Brandon Better led the Thunderbirds with 20 points, shooting 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Both Aytes and Dwayne Morgan finished with 13 points for the Thunderbirds. Morgan led the team in rebounding with seven.

The victory moved the Thunderbirds to 11-15 on the season and 5-10 in Big Sky Conference play.

Justin Strings led the Hornets in scoring with 17 points. Jordan Tolbert finished with 16 as well.

The Thunderbirds will be on the road for their final two regular season contests next week, as they'll travel to Eastern Washington and Idaho.

Follow the Thunderbirds all season @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Basketball page on Facebook.