PORTLAND -- When the Idaho State Bengals knocked off Eastern Washington on Wednesday evening it meant the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah University were in control of their own destiny for the Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Regular Season Championship. They won the first of two contests needed to claim that trophy on Thursday evening with a 68-58 victory over the Portland State Vikings. 

With the result, the T-Birds will remain on top of the Big Sky Conference standings heading into Friday's contests with a 11-2 league record. SUU is also 18-3 overall on the year.   

With 6:28 to play in the opening half the Vikings had built up a 25-13 lead over Southern Utah, but from that point until the end of the opening frame the lead not only evaporated, but Southern Utah ended up in control. 

The Thunderbirds closed out the opening half on a 16-0 run to hold a 29-25 advantage going into the locker room after 20 minutes. 

"We talk about not getting too high or too low, so when our shots weren't falling we knew they would eventually and we just had to stick to the game plan," SUU head coach Todd Simon said about the massive run. "When we get on runs like that we can be pretty effective, and they didn't have an answer for us during that stretch." 

John Knight III had nine of Southern Utah's 16 points over that stretch, and led SUU at the break with 12 total points in 19 minutes of play. 

Even though the Thunderbirds never relinquished the lead in the second half, the Vikings did make a couple big pushes. 

With 14:41 to play PSU had tied the contest up at 35-35, but a quick 7-0 run by the Thunderbirds put them back in control. 

SUU led by as many as 14 in the second half, and eventually left Viking Pavilion with a 10 point victory. 

Southern Utah's defense stepped up big down the stretch, as they held PSU to 2-of-12 shooting on their final attempts of the contest. 

Knight III finished the contest with a career-high 26 points. He reached that mark on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 12-of-16 shooting from the free throw line. He also finished the game with seven rebounds and four assists. 

"He was super efficient," Simon said about Knight III. "He did a great job breaking the press. When he gets into open space he's so hard to guard, and when you double him he's great at finding the open shooters. We'll assume they'll adjust their gameplan on Saturday, but he'll find more ways to be effective and we'll go from there."  

Even though he didn't have the biggest scoring night, finishing with six points, Maizen Fausett had a big contest for the Thunderbirds on the glass with 13 boards. He also had two blocks on the evening. 

Tevian Jones continues to have the hot hand for Southern Utah, finishing with 21 points. 

James Scott finished the game as the leading scorer for the Vikings, dropping in 20 points. He also led their rebounding effort with eight boards. 

Fastbreak points were a major factor for the Thunderbirds, as they held a 22-6 advantage in that category. 

SUU's defense held the Vikings to just 31 percent shooting on the night from the field, and just 28 percent from the three-point line. 

The T-Birds finished with 11 assists on 22 made baskets. SUU also narrowly won the rebounding battle 43-41. 

Southern Utah will play for the Big Sky Conference Regular Season Championship on Saturday in Viking Pavilion, with tipoff set for 1 p.m. MT. 

"We know that defensive rebounding travels and we'll need to make adjustments on our end to get more boards," Simon said looking forward to Saturday. "It's a physical game. We'll need to rebound more, continue to get stops, stay disciplined on offense and hopefully the pieces will fall into place."

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