Southern Utah's Jeff Monaco (left) and Stan Johnson celebrate the school's first tourney berth.(AP)

The victory ended Valparaiso's six-year reign as the conference tournament champions. The Crusaders (24-8) had won 17 straight conference tournament games before Tuesday night.

"We came out and played like champions," Southern Utah coach Bill Evans said. "It was a great game. I can't dance, but I'll go anyway."

Southern Utah (25-5), the second seed in the tournament, nearly pulled an upset last year before losing to Valparaiso in the conference title game.

This time, however, the Thunderbirds staved off a furious second-half rally by Valparaiso.

The difference, Valparaiso coach Homer Drew said, was experience.

"You have to really compliment Southern Utah," Drew said. "I think (Jeff) Monaco hits a couple of huge 3s and House hit a couple of big shots when we got the lead. They have five seniors."

And the seniors got Southern Utah started.

The Thunderbirds broke to an 11-2 lead in the opening minutes and built a 33-21 halftime lead.

But the Crusaders (24-8) went to Lubos Barton on the first play of the second half and he responded with a dunk. Barton made six of his first seven shots, including four 3-pointers, in the second half. The barrage ignited a 23-7 run that gave Valparaiso its only lead of the night, 49-48, with 8:51 to go.

Then, Southern Utah's seniors stepped forward.

Monaco, the Mid-Continent player of the year, hit a basket and completed a three-point play to give Southern Utah a 53-49 edge.

Valparaiso tied the score at 53, but Monaco and House hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 59-53 with 2:34 to go.

Still, Southern Utah struggled to put the game away. The Thunderbirds missed two-of-three free throws and then House missed a 15-footer with 15 seconds left, giving Valparaiso a chance to win it.

But Crusader guard Dwayne Toatley threw the ball away with 6.7 seconds left and House, who was fouled, hit both free throws to seal the game, giving them reason to celebrate and House an opportunity to kneel at midcourt and pound the floor.

"We were happy to get the big lead," House said. "We kept our energy up and gave it our best effort.

Monaco finished with 17 points for Southern Utah, while Barton led Valparaiso with 22 points -- all in the second half.