BOISE, Idaho -- For the second consecutive season the Thunderbird men's basketball team has advanced to the Big Sky Conference Tournament Semifinals, as they knocked off the Northern Colorado Bears on Thursday evening 83-64.

"I thought we had a very work-like attitude, very focused and our enthusiasm was off the charts tonight," SUU head coach Todd Simon said following the contest.

With the victory, the T-Birds moved to 16-15 on the season. The last time SUU finished .500 or better was the 2006-07 season.

The T-Birds didn't get out to an ideal start, as the Bears quickly built a six point advantage about seven minutes into the opening half. SUU got hot in a hurry, however, and completely swung momentum in their favor despite Andre Adams being saddled with foul trouble. SUU built their lead to as many as 10, and took a nine point lead into the halftime break.

It was a 15-1 run to start the second half that gave the Thunderbirds some separation, and a triple by Ivan Madunic off the bench gave the T-Birds their biggest lead of the contest at 24.

"We told ourselves we were going to keep doing what we were doing, and it was working, so we just kept chopping and it took care of itself," SUU forward Cameron Oluyitan said.

As the final minutes ticked off the T-Birds never let their lead get lower than 14, and ran away with the victory in Boise.

Simon is now 5-2 as a head coach at the Big Sky Conference Tournament.

In total, four Thunderbirds scored in double figures on Thursday night. That charge was led by Oluyitan, who finished with 18 points in 39 minutes. Jacob Calloway only sat a single minute for SUU, and dropped in 17 points on five made three-point field goals.

Dre Marin finished with 15 points, and shot 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Rounding out the group, Brandon Better scored 14 points in just 21 minutes of action.  

"We've done that in league play where on any given night there's someone different leading us," said Simon. "It's not really uncommon for us and it truly is their unselfishness and they understand the game of basketball."  

The T-Birds shot 53 percent from the field, 93 percent from the free throw line and forced the bears into 18 turnovers.

SUU outscored UNC 32-20 in the paint.

The Thunderbirds will advance to play the victor of the contest between Montana State and Eastern Washington. SUU's next game is set for 8 p.m. MT on Friday night.

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