GREELEY, Colo.—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 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 Northern Colorado (17-5, 6-3) with 15 points. Will Figures had 12, but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The loss drops Northern Colorado 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 back to 41-36 with a pair of short jumpers, but the Bears fought back to take the lead, 48-46, on Neal Kingman’s off-balance fadeaway jumper with 7:50 remaining.
The teams traded 3-pointers before Northern Colorado padded its lead to 55-49 on layups by Kingman and Taylor Montgomery. Will Cherry put Montana ahead at 59-58 with a layup off a steal and again at 61-59 on a jump shot from inside the lane. Beitzel had a 3-pointer for the Bears, 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 at the buzzer.
Staudacher’s 3-pointer capped a 12-0 run to put Montana ahead 31-18 late in the first half. The Bears whittled it down to 31-23 by halftime on a basket and 3-pointer by Beitzel.
