Cedar City, Utah -- The UMKC men's basketball team had its losing skid stretched to three games with a 69-56 defeat at Southern Utah on Saturday night at Centrum Arena.  The Thunderbirds outscored the 'Roos 38-10 in the paint en route to ending their five-game losing streak.  The loss drops UMKC's record to 1-13 all-time in Cedar City.

Two Kangaroo players finished in double digits with junior Jay Couisnard pacing the squad with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting.  Sophomore Trey McKinney-Jones finished with 14 to go along with a team-high seven boards.

The action was even over the first seven minutes, as UMKC built a 13-11 lead behind an 11 combined points by Couisnard and McKinney-Jones.  Southern Utah then grabbed the lead courtesy of a 6-0 run to build a 17-13 advantage.

UMKC then scored five straight points behind a three-pointer by Alex Bazzell and a pair of Couisnard free throws to grab the 18-17 advantage.  The T-Birds, however, responded with a 13-5 run to build a half-high seven point lead at 30-23 before taking a 34-29 advantage into the break.

SUU shot better than 60 percent (.609) from the floor and 50 percent from long range in the half, but its leading scorer, Davis Baker, was held scoreless with just one shot attempt. 

UMKC came out fighting in the second half, as it immediately erased the five-point deficit with a 7-2 run to even the game at 36 all with 16:41 to play.  The Thunderbirds answered with six straight points before the 'Roos netted the next seven points, including five straight by Bakari Lewis, to give UMKC the 44-42 lead with 13:06 remaining.

SUU quickly evened the tally at 44 on its next possession before scoring the next four points to grab a 48-44 lead.  Bazzell then pulled the 'Roos to within one (48-47) on his third three of the night before Matt Hodgson scored down low to make the score 50-47 with 7:33 left in the game.

UMKC continued battling as a Couisnard three-point play evened the tally at 50 with 6:17 remaining.  Southern Utah, however, went back to its bread and butter, as it fed the ball down to the post, where Matt Massey answered with a three-point play of his own to spark a 13-2 run that stretch his squad's lead to 11 points (63-52).  The T-Birds extended their run to 19-6 to close out the game, as they claimed the 13 point victory.

UMKC shot .340 (17-50) from the floor and .391 (9-23) from long range, while Southern Utah finished with a .489 (23-47) field goal percentage and a .375 (3-8) mark from three-point land.  SUU also out rebounded the 'Roos, 42-25.

Massey and Hodgson both reached double digits in scoring for the T-Birds, scoring 14 and 10, respectively.  Hodgson also grabbed 10 boards to tally a double-double. 

UMKC (9-12, 3-7) will continue its road trip at North Dakota State on Thursday night in Fargo.