ROCHESTER, Mich. ???C Junior Erik Kangas scored a season-high 27 points, and junior Derick Nelson added 17 points, but Southern Utah (2-7, 1-1 Summit) received a game-high 32 points and 11 rebounds from Geoff Payne to upend Oakland University (4-5, 1-1 Summit), 82-73, on Saturday in men???s basketball action at the Athletics Center O???Rena. The Thunderbirds outrebounded the Golden Grizzlies 36-26 in the game.

???We are bigger than they are and our strength is rebounding,??? said head coach Greg Kampe. ???They beat us at our game and the fact that we sent them to the line so much means we were a step slow on defense.???

Sophomore point guard Johnathon Jones scored 12 points, tallied eight assists and a career-high seven steals. Redshirt freshman Keith Benson added 10 points and six rebounds for the Grizzlies.

The game featured 12 lead changes and the Thunderbirds outscored the Grizzlies 46-26 in the paint. SUU scored 18 points from the free throw line and shot 58 percent (31-54) for the game.

The first half was tight throughout as there were six lead changes during the 20 minutes with the Thunderbirds holding a 33-32 advantage at intermission. The Golden Grizzlies held a 55-53 lead with 10:13 remaining in the game, but SUU used a 13-2 run over three minutes to pull away from Oakland 66-57.

The Grizzlies brought it within seven 70-63 with just over four minutes and missed two chances to climb within five late and the Thunderbirds knocked down several free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

Oakland will travel to Ann Arbor on Wednesday to take on the University of Michigan. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network at 7 p.m. The contest can also be followed on WDTW (1310 AM) with Mario Impemba and Tom Negoshian on the call.

-30-