CEDAR CITY — John Knight III scored 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Marquis Moore exploded for a season-high 15 points off the bench as the Southern Utah University men’s basketball team downed Portland 77-66 to advance to the semifinals of The Basketball Classic.
“I’m very proud of our guys’ effort against a very good Portland team,” said SUU head coach Todd Simon. “The squad executed well, and we were able to hold the lead for the entire 40 minutes. I think the keys to winning the game were shooting 53.7 percent from the field and being plus 10 in the rebounding margin. Marquis Moore stepped up in a huge way after Maizen Fausett went down.”
The win was Southern Utah’s 23rd victory of the season and advances the Thunderbirds to the final four of The Basketball Classic, where they will next travel to Fresno, California to face Fresno State in the tournament’s semifinals Monday at 8 p.m. MDT.
Harrison Butler drilled a three-pointer on the first possession of the game as SUU came out firing on all cylinders, building a 12-0 lead over the first five minutes of action.
Southern Utah continued to dominate throughout the first half, maintaining at least a nine-point lead over the next 11 minutes of play. With just under five minutes remaining until halftime, Portland made a push to get back in the game, using a 6-0 run in less than one minute of game time to cut the SUU lead to six with 3:47 remaining in the half.
The Thunderbirds responded in the form of a Nick Fleming three-pointer followed by four consecutive points from Moore to push the lead back to 11.
The Pilots were able to cut the deficit back down to nine after Chris Austin hit two free throws on the next possession; but, Moore refused to allow the Pilots back in the game, drilling another three-pointer with one minute remaining in the half. SUU took a 46-34 lead going into the break.
Southern Utah shot an unbelievable 69.2 percent from the field (18-26) in the first half, while knocking down 7-of-14 shots from 3-point range on their way to a 46-point explosion.
SUU continued to shoot lights out in the second period, extending their lead to 15 on a Dre Marin three-pointer with 12 minutes to go in the contest.
The Pilots refused to go out quietly though, trimming Southern Utah’s lead to just eight with 5:41 remaining.
With the score notched at 66-58 in crunch time, and SUU in need of a bucket, Knight came up with a loose ball and threw down a dunk to push the lead back to double figures and extinguish any momentum Portland had built up.
Southern Utah held on over the final three and a half minutes to earn another impressive victory over a strong opponent and pick up their third straight victory in The Basketball Classic, as well as the program’s fourth all-time postseason win in its Division I history.
Southern Utah shot a blistering 53.7 percent from the floor (29-54) for the game, while holding Portland’s explosive offense to just 66 points on 42.6 percent shooting (23-54). Southern Utah’s bench also outscored the Pilots bench, 27-3.
“Monday will be a big matchup at Fresno State, which is a top team out of the Mountain West Conference,” said Simon. “With wins over opponents from the MAC, Conference USA, and the WCC thus far in this tournament, a win on the road over a Mountain West opponent would be significant.”
If Southern Utah is able to secure their fourth straight tournament victory on Monday night, they will advance to the championship game of The Basketball Classic, where they will face the winner of Coastal Carolina vs. South Alabama.
Written by TREVOR MARBUT, SUU Athletics Communications.