SALT LAKE CITY – The Southern Utah men’s basketball team used a big second half to beat the Portland State Vikings for their first win of 2022.

The Thunderbirds hosted the Vikings on Monday, January 17.

SUU beat Portland State, 86-76.

T-Birds WIN ⚡️#StormTheSky pic.twitter.com/dhiRXOBtmp

— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) January 18, 2022

After the opening 20 minutes of action, the teams were knotted at 39-39 going to the halftime break.

No mercy @YoungggMoore 🏹 pic.twitter.com/exbhkwfajw

— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) January 18, 2022

In the second half, Southern Utah outscored Portland State by double-digits. SUU owned a one-point lead with 5:30 remaining in the contest.

The T-Birds closed the game on a 16-7 run to earn their 10th win over the season.

🚨 POSTER ALERT 🚨 from none other than @TheReal_TJones ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/L7FOLPucAO

— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) January 18, 2022

Southern Utah finished the game shooting 61.5 percent overall and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc. Maizen Fausett led the Thunderbirds with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Breaking away 🏃‍♂️ @mufausett pic.twitter.com/zX84AX3zLT

— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) January 18, 2022

With the victory, the T-Birds improved to a 10-5 record this season, including 4-1 in Big Sky Conference games.

Southern Utah’s next game is at home against the Idaho State Bengals on Saturday, January 22 at 2 p.m. (MDT) on ESPN+.

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