Box Score

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Houston Baptist erased a 17-point deficit to tie the game in the waning moments, but Southern Utah's Ryan Brimley hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left as the Thunderbirds escaped with a 64-61 victory at Carrs Safeway Great Alaska Shootout Saturday afternoon at Sullivan Arena.

HBU senior guard Andrew Gonzalez scored 16 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, but fouled out with 4:19 left in the game. Senior guard Michael Moss added 12 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Huskies (0-6).

Matt Massey led Southern Utah (2-4) with 20 points, while Matt Hodgson and Kyle Davis had 11 points and eight rebounds each. Hodgson also posted four blocks for the Thunderbirds.

SUU had an early 8-0 run to go up 14-5, then later used a 10-0 run to take their largest lead of the first half at 32-15. The Thunderbirds dominated the glass in the first half, outrebounding the Huskes 25-11, including 10-4 on the offensive boards. SUU, which took a 38-25 lead into the break, shot 48.4 percent in the first half, while holding HBU to 29.2 percent. Massey led the Thunderbirds with 10 points in the opening frame, while Moss led the Huskies with seven.

HBU struck back early in the second half, with Moss's 3-pointer at the 13:40 mark capping a four-minute stretch in which the Huskies outscored the Thunderbirds, 13-5, to cut the lead to 47-40. SUU went back up by 11 at 55-44 with 8:36 remaining, but HBU scored the next seven points as the Thunderbirds turned the ball over on six straight possessions.

The Huskies' free-throw shooting down the stretch was costly. HBU had been 21-for-27 from the line up until the last six minutes of the game, but made only 1-of-8 after that. Gonzalez was 12-for-12, but missed his last three before fouling out. Moss made a great steal, followed by a layup and was fouled on the fast break, but missed the free throw which could have tied the game with 2:45 left. After a Massey jumper put the Thunderbirds back up by three with just over two minutes remaining, HBU junior forward Terry Bembry made a layup and was fouled with 1:11 to go, but the Huskies again failed to convert the 3-point play. HBU senior forward Fred Hinnenkamp blocked Massey's jumper with 43 seconds left and freshman guard Jonathan Evans was fouled on his way to the basket on the ensuing possession with 27 seconds to go. Evans hit the second of his two free throws to tie the game, 61-61. After Bembry blocked a jumper by Massey out of bounds, SUU called a timeout with six seconds left to set up Brimley's game-winning shot. Moss drove just inside midcourt, but his last-second heave bounced off the backboard as time expired.

SUU shot 44.1 percent for the game for the field, while HBU shot 31.5 percent. The Thunderbirds shot 2-of-10 (20.0 percent) from behind the arc and 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) from the free-throw line. The Huskies hit 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) from long range and 22-of-35 (62.9 percent) from the free-throw line. SUU turned the ball over 22 times, including 13 in the second half, while HBU had a season-low 14. The Thunderbirds outrebounded the Huskies, 46-28, including 20-15 on the offensive glass.