BOISE, Idaho - The Southern Utah University Men's Basketball team fell behind 11-2 in the first four minutes of their quarterfinal matchup against Portland State and struggled throughout the entire game to find their stroke on the offensive side of the court. They ultimately came up short and bowed out of the Big Sky tournament, falling to the Vikings 77-65.

"The ball just didn't go in the basket for us today. Normally, we're one of the better shooting teams in the league, but that's the beauty of these tournaments. You have to be on, and you have to do everything right, and it just didn't go our way," said Head Coach Todd Simon.

Portland State took a 2-0 lead to start the game and never trailed throughout the entire contest. The Vikings offense came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, knocking down eight of their first twelve shots to build a 22-6 lead 11 minutes into the game.

A banged-up Southern Utah squad had a difficult time getting anything going on offense against a pesky Viking defense. For the game, the T-Birds were held to just 36.8 percent from the floor (25-68), connecting on just three of 25 attempts from behind the arc. The Thunderbirds were playing without leading scorer Tevian Jones, while starters Dre Marin, Maizen Fausett, and John Knight III were nowhere near 100 percent.

"I'm super proud of these guys. It's been a long winding journey this year with a lot of injuries, illness, and adversity, but we just kept fighting," said Simon.

After trailing by 17 early in the second half, the T-Birds put together an 18-10 run to cut the Viking lead to nine after Fausett knocked down SUU's first three-pointer of the game; unfortunately, that was as close as Southern Utah would get to closing the margin. 

Fausett led the way for SUU, scoring a team-high 19 points and pulling down a game-high nine rebounds. Knight III injured his wrist early in the second half but continued to play. He left everything on the court, finishing with 13 points and seven rebounds in what could be his final game in a Southern Utah uniform. 

"SUU gave me a chance when nobody else would. When I entered the transfer portal, Coach Simon was the only one to actually give me a chance, and he has always been like another father figure to me. I made a family forever at SUU, and I will forever have a place in my heart for my teammates and coaches here," said Knight III.

Dre Marin has been battling an illness as of late and was a game-time decision tonight; but, he pushed through to suit up. Like Knight III, he left it all on the court, finishing with 13 points and four rebounds. Jason Spurgin chipped in 12 points of his own while tallying two blocked shots.

Khalid Thomas led the way for Portland State, dropping a game-high 20 points and pulling down seven rebounds.

Notable Stats

• Knight III ranks in the top 10 in SUU basketball history for points, steals, and assists, despite only playing three seasons for the T-Birds. 

• Dre Marin has appeared in the most games in Southern Utah program history, while also ranking in the top 10 for his career in points, assists, steals, and free throw percentage.

• Tonight's game was Southern Utah's final as a member of the Big Sky, as the school will make the transition to the WAC this summer.

• Coach Todd Simon has led Southern Utah to a combined record of 40-15 overall and 26-8 in Big Sky play over the past two seasons.

• Southern Utah's 20 first-half points were tied for the lowest amount they have scored in the first half of any game this season.

• Southern Utah turned the ball over 13 times, leading to 13 PSU points off of turnovers.

• The T-Birds totaled just three assists on 25 made baskets for the game.

• The loss snapped a six-game win streak against the Vikings.

Up Next

Southern Utah will now play the waiting game to see if they receive a bid to participate in a postseason tournament.

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