CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Idaho (0-9, 0-6 BSC) men's basketball team held a lead with 10 minutes to play, but ultimately fell, 83-67, to Southern Utah (9-1, 4-0 BSC) on Saturday afternoon.

THE GAME
The Thunderbirds opened the game on an 8-2 run, but Idaho responded with an 8-2 run of its own to tie things up, 10-10, with 15:27 remaining in the first. With 10:36 left until half, the home team led by one point, 18-17, and began to increase its cushion. SUU led by 10, 43-33, at the break.
 
Both teams began the second half cold, and Damen Thacker scored the first points of the period with 17:22 to play. That started an eight-minute period in which the Vandals outscored the Thunderbirds 22-10, taking a 55-53 lead with 10:24 remaining in the game. However, SUU responded with a 9-0 run to retake the lead. The visitors were unable to stage another comeback, and ultimately fell, 83-67.
 
THE NOTES
Damen Thacker led the Vandals with 16 points. It was the senior's fifth consecutive game scoring in double figures. He also had four boards, two assists, and two steals in the game.
 
Ja'Vary Christmas set a new career-high in assists for the second straight game. He dished six assists to his teammates to go along with four points and two steals.
 
Isaac Berglund played his first minutes in a Vandals jersey on Saturday.
 
The Vandals had a large advantage in points in the paint, scoring 48 to SUU's 28.
 
The Vandals were edged in rebounds, 28-26. The Thunderbirds tallied 10 offensive boards, including four by Marquis Moore.    
 
Idaho shot over 50 percent for a third consecutive game. Idaho shot 52.9 percent (27-for-51) from the floor, while SUU was 26-for-55 (47.3 percent).
 
The Vandals were just 2-for-14 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Thunderbirds were 10-for-26 (38.5 percent). Both of Idaho's three-pointers were made by DeAndre Robinson. It was the fewest made treys for the Vandals since they failed to make one against Portland State last season (Feb. 17).
 
The Vandals were 11-for-12 from the line. The Thunderbirds were 21-for-26 from the free throw line.
 
Damen Thacker was 6-for-6 from the free throw line and has now made his last 21 foul shots. Babacar Thiombane was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. The big man has now made 10 straight free throws.
 
THE NAME
Ethan Kilgore. Kilgore scored a career-high 10 points off the bench. The freshman also chipped in three rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes.

THE QUOTES – Zac Claus
"I thought [SUU] did a really nice job of moving the ball… Jones is as dynamic of a guy to be able to score the ball all over the place as there is in the league… They had some really timely offensive rebounds that enabled them to extend their lead. We did not do a good job of handling the ball."
 
"I'm disappointed… to be able to take what we did on the floor on Thursday and not be able to transfer it to today."
 
"We are capable of doing some really good things defensively, but it's got to be collective, it's got to be all five guys working together. That was what propelled us to get stops and get out and run a little bit."
 
UP NEXT
The Vandals return home to begin a five-game stretch in Memorial Gym. Idaho welcomes Northern Colorado for two games beginning with a matchup on Thursday, January 14, with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
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.