Recap: Montana State vs. Southern Utah

Bozeman, MT (Sports Network) - Christian Moon scored a game-high 24 points as he helped lead the Montana State Bobcats to a 76-68 win over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in Big Sky Conference play at Worthington Arena.

Xavier Blount and Paul Egwuonwu accounted for 13 and 10 points, respectively, for a Montana State (7-9, 4-4 Big Sky) squad that snapped a two-game slide.

The Thunderbirds (5-12, 3-5), losers of five straight, were paced by Damon Heuir who tallied 20 points, but shot just 7-of-20 from the floor, including 4-of-13 behind the 3-point line. Jackson Stevenett added 19 points and Jayson Cheesman 13, to go along with eight boards and three blocked shots.

Montana State scored the first points of the night and never looked back, leading by as many as nine points in the first half before claiming a 36-31 advantage at the break. The Thunderbirds could have closed the gap even further if not for a 6-of-11 shooting at the free-throw line.

The Bobcats, who connected on 50 percent from the field through the first 20 minutes, dipped to 39.3 percent after intermission but maintained an edge thanks to 16-of-21 shooting at the charity stripe.

Montana State, which held SUU without a single fast-break basket, also outscored the visitors at the free-throw line by a 20-11 margin.