Northern Colorado holds off late Hawaii comeback bid, 81-78
HONOLULU -- — Matt Johnson II hit a pair of free throws with four seconds left to allow Northern Colorado to hold off a furious Hawaii comeback bid and earn an 81-78 win Thursday night.
The Bears led by as many as 26 points in the second half, but the Warriors roared back and cut the deficit to a single point, 78-77 with :04 left when JoVon McClanahan hit two free throws.
Johnson was fouled on the in-bounds pass and pushed the Northern Colorado lead back to three points. Hawaii's Noel Coleman hit the first of two free throws to make it 80-78. Dalton Knecht hit the second of two free throws with a second left to make it 81-78. Hawaii got the ball with a second left but turned it over.
Daylen Kountz and Dru Kuxhausen each scored 21 points to lead Northern Colorado (2-0). Bodie Hume added 16 points and Kur Jongkuch grabbed 11 rebounds.
Jerome Desrosiers scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Hawaii (1-1). Kamaka Hepa, Bernardo da Silva and Noel Coleman each added 14 points.
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Game Information
- Referees:
- Mike Scyphers
- Andy Cohn
- Mark Fulton
2023-24 Big Sky Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Eastern Washington | 15-3 | - | 21-11 |
Montana | 12-6 | 3 | 24-12 |
Northern Colorado | 12-6 | 3 | 19-14 |
Weber State | 11-7 | 4 | 20-12 |
Montana State | 9-9 | 6 | 17-18 |
Portland State | 8-10 | 7 | 17-15 |
Northern Arizona | 7-11 | 8 | 14-19 |
Idaho State | 7-11 | 8 | 14-20 |
Idaho | 5-13 | 10 | 11-21 |
Sacramento State | 4-14 | 11 | 10-24 |
2023-24 Big West Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
UC Irvine | 17-3 | - | 24-10 |
UC San Diego | 15-5 | 2 | 21-12 |
UC Davis | 14-6 | 3 | 20-13 |
Hawai'i | 11-9 | 6 | 20-14 |
Long Beach State | 10-10 | 7 | 21-15 |
UC Riverside | 10-10 | 7 | 16-18 |
Cal State Northridge | 9-11 | 8 | 19-15 |
UC Santa Barbara | 9-11 | 8 | 16-15 |
Cal State Bakersfield | 8-12 | 9 | 13-19 |
Cal State Fullerton | 7-13 | 10 | 14-18 |
Cal Poly | 0-20 | 17 | 4-28 |