Reno, Nev. • Brandon Better scored 18 points, Dwayne Morgan had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Southern Utah beat Idaho State 76-68 on Tuesday night in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament.
Jadon Cohee added 15 points and Jamal Aytes had 10 for 10th-seeded Southern Utah (12-18), which faces No. 2 seed Idaho (22-8) in a Thursday quarterfinal.
Brandon Boyd made a 3-pointer to pull Idaho State to 66-63 with 2:03 left. Cohee and Better combined for 10-of-10 shooting from the line to end it.
Boyd scored 22 points and Geno Luzcando had 21 for seventh-seeded Idaho State (14-16). Jared Stutzman chipped in 11 points and Novak Topalovic nine with 14 rebounds.
A 20-5 run between the halves gave Southern Utah a 48-35 lead early in the second. The Thunderbirds made 21 of 26 (81 percent) free throws compared with Idaho State's 13-of-22 shooting (59 percent) at the line.