CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Idaho (0-8, 0-5 BSC) men's basketball team fell in another close game, 85-80, to Southern Utah (8-1, 3-0 BSC) on Thursday evening. Damen Thacker scored a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers.

THE GAME
The Vandals jumped out to a 3-0 lead by way of a DeAndre Robinson three-pointer. The Thunderbirds scored the next seven points, and never trailed again. With 8:26 to play in the first half, Tevian Jones hit a three-pointer to put the home team up 16, 34-18. SUU was able to hold Idaho off in the period and took a 12-point lead, 47-35, into the break.
 
The first five minutes of the second half were back-and-forth. However, the Vandals went on a 7-0 run to get within five points, 58-53, with just under 14 minutes to play. Each time the visitors would draw close, the Thunderbirds were able to respond with a basket. With 4:03 remaining, SUU led, 73-65. Babacar Thiombane drained a three-pointer from in front of the Vandal bench, before Damen Thacker recorded a steal and passed ahead to Ja'Vary Christmas who dunked it, drawing Idaho within three, 73-70.
 
The two teams traded baskets down the stretch and with 27 seconds to play the deficit was two for Idaho. Jones missed one of his two free throws after getting fouled, and Thacker drove down and scored to make it a one-point game, 81-80. However, Marquis Moore then made both of his shots from the free throw line for SUU, and a three-pointer by the Vandals would not fall on their next possession. The Thunderbirds would ultimately take the Big Sky game, 85-80.
 
THE NOTES
Idaho outscored SUU, 45-38 in the second half.
 
Damen Thacker set a new career-high for points with 27. He previously scored 24 against Walla Walla (Nov. 23, 2019).
 
Ja'Vary Christmas finished with 10 points and a career-high five assists in the game.  
 
Gabe Quinnett dished out four assists which ties his career high. He also scored 10 points.
 
The Vandals edged the Thunderbirds in rebounds, 33-32. DeAndre Robinson led the Vandals with five boards.   
 
Idaho shot over 50 percent for the second consecutive game. Idaho shot 54.9 percent (28-for-51) from the floor, while SUU was 27-for-60 (45.0 percent). The Vandals were 7-for-14 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Thunderbirds were 10-for-29 (34.5 percent).
 
The Vandals were 17-for-20 from the line. The Thunderbirds were 21-for-31 from the free throw line.
 
THE NAME
Damen Thacker. Thacker led all scorers with 27 points, which was a new career high. He was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. He tallied four assists, three rebounds, and two steals without turning the ball over in 32 minutes.

THE QUOTES – Zac Claus
"We did a much better job over the course of the last 25 to 30 minutes of trying to eliminate second chance points. They do a tremendous job of being physical… they treat any shot as being an offensive opportunity. For us to limit them to three offensive rebounds in the second half was important."
 
"I love the resiliency of this group. I know that they're fighting. I know that they're competing. We'll get our rest, we'll study some tape, and we'll get this group ready for Saturday."
 
"[Damen] made good, solid decisions. To get himself to the line 11 times just shows how much he was getting himself into the paint and creating contact and then to hit them all is huge… He hit some timely jumpers, he was able to get to the rim, to get a scoring punch from him tonight was big."
 
UP NEXT
The Vandals and Thunderbirds meet again on Saturday, January 9. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. pacific time.
 
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho men's basketball by following the team on twitter and Instagram, @VandalHoops.

For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com.  Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.