Greeley, CO – Matt Johnson hit a pull-up 15-foot jump shot from the wing with 3.4 seconds remaining to lift Northern Colorado to a 66-64 win over Portland State.
 
Johnson's jumper ended a frenetic final few minutes between the teams. It also wiped away a brilliant performance and big shot that tied the game by Viking junior guard Ian Burke in the late-going.
 
PSU was down 60-49 with 5:31 to play but made a run at the Bears in the final moments. It started with a three-pointer by Burke, then a pair of free throws by both senior guard James Scott and senior forward John Hall. When freshman guard Paris Dawson hit a three at the 3:31 mark, the Vikings trailed just 60-59. It was a battle from there.
 
Daylen Kountz scored on a drive with 2:09 to play and UNC was up 64-61. The teams combined for four empty possessions after that.
 
The Vikings had the ball inside the final 30 seconds. Scott tried for a tying three-pointer but missed. Senior forward Khalid Thomas was able to corral the rebound and sling a pass across court to Burke. The junior guard buried a corner three-pointer with 14 seconds to play and tied the game at 64-64.
 
After a Northern Colorado timeout, Johnson searched for an opening and finally headed to the right wing. He pulled up and swished the game winner with 3.4 ticks left on the clock. Needing to go the length of the court, the Vikings got a desperation running three-point attempt at the final buzzer but missed.
 
It was a big win for the Bears who improved to 6-6 in Big Sky Conference play. They jumped over the Vikings to sixth place in the standings. PSU fell to 5-6 in conference and are now in seventh. The Vikings' four-game winning streak came to an end, however if they can come back to beat Northern Colorado on Saturday, they would move back into sixth in the standings.
 
Burke had perhaps his best game as a Viking, scoring a season-high 17 points. He hit 4-4 from the field, all of which were three-pointers. Burke also made 5-5 at the line, grabbed five rebounds and made one steal.
 
Scott scored 10 points for the Vikings and Thomas had a team-high six rebounds.
 
Kountz led the Bears with 19 points, hitting 7-11 from the field. Big man Kur Jockuch had 11 points and 15 rebounds.
 
Ultimately, PSU could not overcome a poor shooting night. They made only 19-58 from the field (.328), but were able to hang in by hitting 20-29 at the free throw line.
 
Northern Colorado was 25-53 from the field (.472) and out-rebounded the Vikings 41-37.
 
It was a game of big runs. Portland State was in charge early and led 19-13 with 8:24 left in the first half. But the Bears went on a 22-2 run over the next five minutes. UNC got six points from Bodie Hume in the run, and he punctuated it with a dunk to put the Bears ahead 35-21 at the 3:12 mark.
 
PSU set the tone to start the second half, forcing three quick turnovers and working back into the game. A 20-10 rally pulled the Vikings within 50-48 at the 11:24 mark.
 
The Bears answered back with a 10-1 run, sparked by six points from Kountz, and were up 60-49 with 5:31 to play. The Vikings then scored the next 10 points to set up the game's exciting conclusion.
 
GAME NOTES: PSU is now 8-10 on the season, 1-6 on the road… the Bears are 10-8 on the season, 6-4 at home… these teams will meet again on Saturday in a noon MT/11 a.m. PT contest. The game can be seen on Pluto TV Channel 1059, www.Pluto.tv, www.WatchBigSky.com. Live stats are available at www.uncbears.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary.