CEDAR CITY, Utah - John Knight III had 26 points in his final game in the America First Event Center, and the Southern Utah University men's basketball team outscored Montana by 24 points in the second half to erase a 16-point halftime deficit in one of the most memorable senior nights in program history.

After the T-Birds (18-9, 12-5) jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the game, Montana used a 13-4 run to take a 5-point lead and continued to build upon that throughout the first half. The Grizzlies (17-11, 10-7) were on fire in the first period, shooting 55.6 percent from the field (15-27) and 63.6 percent from three (7-11) to take a 44-28 lead into the break.

Despite struggling on both sides of the floor in the first half, Southern Utah refused to send one of the strongest senior classes in program history out on a loss in their final home game, putting on an incredible display of basketball over the final 20 minutes. 

The Thunderbirds set the tempo on defense, holding Montana to just nine made field goals and one made three-pointer for the entire second half. Southern Utah was able to simultaneously find their stroke on the offensive side of the floor in the final 20 minutes, shooting a scorching 61.3 percent from the field (19-31), and 62.5 percent from three (5-8).

Tevian Jones scored a basket on a cutting layup to open up the half, and SUU chipped away at the lead over the next 5 minutes, trimming it down to just 10 off of a made basket by Maizen Fausett with 14:58 remaining. The T-Birds started to build momentum and ripped off a 26-7 run over the next 10 minutes of play to completely take over the game. Senior Nick Fleming capped off the run by drilling a contested three-pointer with the shot clock winding down, energizing the arena and giving SUU a 9-point lead, their largest of the contest. 

Southern Utah continued their strong play over the final five minutes of the game to secure Coach Todd Simon's 100th career victory, and shock the Grizzlies. The win was Southern Utah's 17th of the season and 12th victory in Big Sky play. With Northern Colorado and Weber State both dropping games tonight, the T-Birds now hold sole possession of second place in the conference standings. SUU also clinched a first-round bye in the Big Sky tournament with the win tonight.

It was a complete team effort from Southern Utah, as nine different T-Birds scored in the game, with six different players contributing at least six points. 

Notable Stats:

• Southern Utah was able to get into the lane all night long, scoring 46 of their 82 points in the paint.

• The Thunderbirds received 18 points of contribution off the bench, with Fleming (8) and Aanen Moody (6) leading the way. 

• Southern Utah dominated the glass, pulling down 38 rebounds to Montana's 27.

• Jason Spurgin recorded the first double-double of his career, with a 15-point, 14-rebound performance, while also dishing out 4 assists.

• Fausett scored all 13 of his points on the night in the second half. 

• The victory was the 100th career win for Head Coach Todd Simon.

• Tonight marked Dre Marin's record 67th home game in a Thunderbird uniform.

• The 16-point comeback win was the largest of the season for SUU.

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will close out the season with a three-game road stretch next week, beginning with a trip to Bozeman, Montana on Tuesday, March 1 to take on Montana State in another critical matchup. Southern Utah will close out the season with games against Idaho State and Weber State, on March 3 and March 5.

For all the latest on Southern Utah men's basketball, follow @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Southern Utah Basketball Facebook page.