Southern Utah beats Portland to advance to Basketball Classic semifinals

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CEDAR CITY — John Knight III had 20 points as Southern Utah defeated Portland 77-66 to advance to The Basketball Classic semifinals Saturday.

Marquis Moore added a season-high 15 points off the bench for the Thunderbirds (23-11), who shot 53% from the field in the win.

"I'm very proud of our guys' effort against a very good Portland team," SUU coach Todd Simon said. "The squad executed well, and we were able to hold the lead for the entire 40 minutes. I think the keys to winning the game were shooting 53.7 percent from the field and being plus 10 in the rebounding margin. Marquis Moore stepped up in a huge way after Maizen Fausett went down."

Tyler Robertson led the Pilots with 27 points.

Southern Utah will face Fresno State on Monday at 8 p.m. MDT. The winner will advance to the championship game of The Basketball Classic, where they will face the winner of Coastal Carolina vs South Alabama.

"Monday will be a big matchup at Fresno State, which is a top team out of the Mountain West Conference," Simon said. "With wins over opponents from the MAC, Conference USA, and the WCC thus far in this tournament, a win on the road over a Mountain West opponent would be significant."