GREELEY — Derek Selvig made three free throws in the final 1:15, and Anthony Johnson scored 19 points as Montana avenged an earlier loss with a 64-62 victory over Northern Colorado on Thursday night.
Selvig finished with 13 points for Montana (14-7, 5-4 Big Sky).
Ryan Staudacher added 17 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Grizzlies, who lost 59-48 to Northern Colorado in Missoula on Dec. 5.
Devon Beitzel led the Bears (17-5, 6-3) with 15 points. Will Figures had 12 but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as Northern Colorado fell to 8-1 at home. The Bears had won 12 consecutive home games, two short of the school record.
Northern Colorado trailed by eight at the break, but Mike Proctor’s layup and two free throws by Chris Kaba pulled the Bears within 37-36 seven minutes into the second half. Johnson pushed Montana’s lead to 41-36 with two short jumpers, but the Bears fought back to take the lead, 48-46, on Neal Kingman’s off-balance fadeaway jumper with 7:50 to go.
The teams traded 3-pointers before Northern Colorado padded its lead to 55-49 on layups by Kingman and Taylor Montgomery. Beitzel hit a 3-pointer to give the Bears a 61-59 edge, but Selvig’s two free throws gave the Grizzlies the lead for good, 63-62, with 1:15 to go.
Beitzel missed a 3-point attempt with five seconds left, and Selvig hit one free throw after the miss. Figures missed a 24-foot shot as time expired.
Arkansas-Little Rock 69, Denver 57
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Matt Mouzy scored 17 points, Derrick Bails added 15 and the Trojans overcame a 14-1 deficit in the first half.
Brian Stafford had 18 points and made five 3-pointers for Denver (13-8, 6-4).
The Pioneers, who entered the game with the second-best field-goal percentage in the nation, went cold after their hot start, finishing 19-of-58 (32.8 percent) from the floor.
Denver led 25-24 at halftime, but Arkansas-Little Rock had a 14-point second-half cushion after Mouzy’s fourth 3-pointer of the game.
