BOISE, Idaho - The No. 1-seeded Southern Utah men's basketball team will take on the No.5-seeded Montana State Bobcats Friday night at 5:00 p.m. in the Semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament.

Last Time Out

Southern Utah knocked off the No. 8-seeded Northern Colorado Bears Thursday afternoon 91-83 to advance to the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament. 

"It was a fun game," SUU head coach Todd Simon said following the contest. "Obviously the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament is always a lot of fun, and getting this first game out of the way is big. You just don't know what to expect in the first game, there's always a little bit of jitters, anxiousness or excited energy, so to get it out of the way and get our focus back is big. I thought our guys did a great job executing the game plan, getting to the hole and our press was good, that's something we've been working on."

For the third game in a row John Knight III set a career-high for Southern Utah, dropping in 34 points on 13-of-21 shooting and 8-of-8 shooting from the free throw line. This ties him for sixth in Big Sky Tournament history in terms of highest scoring individual game. 

Chasing History

The Thunderbirds are seeking only their second-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The only team from Southern Utah to ever qualify for March Madness was the 2000-01 edition of the T-Birds, who squared off against Boston College and narrowly pulled the upset, ultimately falling 68-65. 

Going Streaking

The Thunderbirds broke their own Division I record on Thursday, winning their 10th contest in a row. The previous winning streak record was set earlier this season at nine. Their last loss came on January 21 against Weber State in Ogden.

Opponent Preview: Montana State Bobcats (12-9)

The No. 5-seeded Bobcats knocked off No. 4 Idaho State Thursday afternoon 71-63 to advance to the semifinals.

Xavier Bishop had 22 points and went 11-for-11 from the free throw line in the win over the Bengals. Jubrile Belo had 19 points and five rebounds.

Bishop is the team's second leading scorer, averaging 14.4 points per game. Amin Adamu is the leading scorer for the Bobcats, averaging 14.7 ppg.

Where To Watch / Follow Along 

All Big Sky Conference Tournament games are streaming live on the PlutoTV App and www.WatchBigSky.com. 

The PlutoTV Channel for the Big Sky Tournament is Ch. 1050. 

A link to livestats can be found on www.tbirdstats.com prior to tipoff.

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