So. Utah knocks off Valparaiso

over Valparaiso's Moussa Mbaye (2

SUU 76

Valparaiso 60

CEDAR CITY — Orlando Griego scored a career-high 19 points and Swaney Cooper and Steve Barnes each added 13 as Southern Utah won its third straight game, 76-60 over Mid-Continent Conference foe Valparaiso.

SUU improved to 4-3 in league play (14-8 overall) and tied the Crusaders (10-11, 4-3 Mid-Con) for third place in the Mid-Con with the win.

Valparaiso held an early 8-4 advantage but Cooper scored back-to-back baskets inside, then Barnes nailed a 3-pointer to stake SUU to an 11-8 lead which they never relinquished.

Although SUU went up by 12 at the half, 31-19, Valpo did come back to make things interesting in the second period.

After the Thunderbirds built a 42-26 lead on a Brad Kanis dunk with 13:05 to play, the Crusaders slowly crept back into the game, cutting the SUU lead to 48-41 with 8:17 to go after Calum McLeod picked Barnes pocket in the lane and drove the length of the court for a layup.

Griego answered with a 3-pointer for SUU, however, and the Thunderbirds built their lead back to 59-46 with 5:05 to play but Brandon McPherson cut the Valpo deficit to 10 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 4:56 mark. After both teams missed opportunities to score McPherson hit another 3-pointer to bring Valpo within 59-52 and the Crusaders eventually pulled within 62-56 on a pair of Shawn Huff free throws with 2:53 to go.

The Thunderbirds pulled away in the final 1:27, however, as Griego gave them a 67-58 lead on a layup, then David Marek hit a pair of free throws to push the advantage to 69-57. The Thunderbirds went on to convert 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

"I really liked my guys' effort tonight," SUU Coach Bill Evans said. "We came out early and established what we wanted to do and I think we did a good job staying with our game plan."

Southern Utah limited Valpo to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half and .364 for the game (20-55) while converting 25-of-50 of its own shots. Griego hit 7-of-10, Cooper hit 5-of-8 and Barnes connected on 4-of-6 shots.

SUU 76

Valparaiso 60