Men’s Basketball Stunned by Last-Second Three in 74-71 Loss to Northern Colorado

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 5, 2022) – Northern Colorado's Matt Johnson drained a 30-footer with 0.5 seconds left to lift the Bears to a stunning 74-71 victory over the Northern Arizona men's basketball team on Saturday. Johnson's game-winner came after the Lumberjacks (8-14, 4-7 Big Sky) hit a pair of threes themselves in the final minute to tie the game.
 
"That's a tough one to have a 12-point lead in the second half and we just couldn't stop them," said head coach Shane Burcar. "Give credit to Northern Colorado. We simply could not stop them, but also give credit to our guys because we were down six and we did get a couple of key stops and before you know it we tie the game up. Johnson hits the shot and we had a good shot at the end of the game and it didn't fall."
 
Trailing 71-65 inside the final minute of the game, junior Mason Stark teed up a corner three with 42.5 seconds left to slice the deficit in half. On the following possession, redshirt freshman Carson Towt rejects Daylen Kountz's layup to set up the Lumberjacks with an opportunity to tie it.
 
Back up the court, sophomore Jalen Cone found redshirt junior Nik Mains in the same corner in front of the Lumberjack bench where Stark connected previously, and Mains drilled the equalizing three with 7.1 seconds remaining.
 
Northern Colorado (11-11, 6-4 Big Sky) played the rest of the clock out and Johnson's long range heave found the bottom of the net to silence the Walkup Skydome crowd. Still, NAU had one final chance with a half a second left, but Mains' three-point attempt off the inbounds was off the mark.
 
Although NAU outshot one of the country's elite three-point shooting teams, Northern Colorado held the overall shooting edge. The Bears shot 49.2 percent overall, and 59.4 percent in the second half to erase a 34-29 halftime deficit, while the Lumberjacks closed at 43.8 percent. The Lumberjacks did make 10 threes compared to eight by the Bears, who entered the day sixth nationally with 10.7 threes per game.
 
Cone led the Lumberjacks with 19 points and also tallied a career-high 11 assists in his first career double-double. All five NAU starters scored in double-figures with Towt at 12 points, Mains at 11 and redshirt sophomore Keith Haymon and freshman Jayden Jackson each scoring 10. For Jackson, that marked his first career double-digit scoring performance.
 
NAU also outrebounded Northern Colorado, 41-31, with Towt coming up one rebound shy of a double-double. Towt's nine rebounds led all players, while redshirt sophomore Ezekiel Richards grabbed six rebounds off the bench. Every Lumberjack to saw action on Saturday scored and recorded at least one rebound.
 
The Lumberjacks led for more than 18 minutes in the first half, as Haymon gave NAU the initial lead with a three on its first possession. The 'Jacks maintained the advantage through the first 11 and a half minutes until the Bears snagged their first lead of the game, 20-19, at the 8:28 mark.
 
Squared up at 27-27 with less than four minutes to play before the half, Cone and Jackson combined for a 7-0 run until Kountz, who led all players with 24 points, scored the final bucket of the first half.
 
Like he did the first half, Haymon opened the second half's scoring with a triple and Towt injected a jolt of energy with a pair of dunks during a 9-4 opening run. Towt later added a third flush and converted a pair at the free throw line to provide NAU with the largest lead of the game, 53-41, with 14:31 to play.
 
The Lumberjacks' advantage slowly whittled away though as the Bears clawed their way back, eventually taking a 66-64 lead with under five minutes to go. Following a bucket by Cone with 6:10 remaining, the Lumberjacks would miss their next seven shots from the field until Stark's three.
 
The two teams will meet again on Monday in Greeley, Colo. with tip-off from the Bank of Colorado Arena at 7:30 p.m.
 
To stay up to date with the NAU men's basketball team, follow the Lumberjacks on Twitter and Instagram.