Last Second Three Ends Southern Utah Upset Bid In Bozeman
Dec 19, 2023, 9:41 PM | Updated: Dec 20, 2023, 10:58 am
BOZEMAN, Montana – A pair of missed free throws in the final seconds proved to be the undoing of Southern Utah in an 89-88 overtime loss at Montana State.
Southern Utah (4-7) took on the Montana State Bobcats on Tuesday, December 19 in Bozeman, Montana.
RELATED: Southern Utah Falls At NAU On Buzzer-Beater By Lumberjacks
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) December 20, 2023
First Half
A hot start from Braden Housley helped propel SUU to a double-digit advantage but was short-lived.
AND ONE!! We lead by 10 pic.twitter.com/L5eOiRQdYi
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) December 20, 2023
The Bobcats used a 12-0 run to take a 16-14 lead with 11:31 left in the half.
From there, there were five lead changes and five ties as neither program could gain an advantage.
The Thunderbirds trailed 40-37 at the break. Dominique Ford led all scorers with 12 points. Chika Nduka scored ten points for Montana State.
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Second Half
The Bobcats built a six-point lead early in the second half but Southern Utah continued to battle.
Defense to offense for house. Love it pic.twitter.com/YS33AD3JIn
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) December 20, 2023
Parsa Fallah used an offensive rebound and three-point play to tie the game at 56 with 10:27 to play.
MSU responded with a 5-0 run to retake the lead but Ford scored on consecutive possessions to keep Southern Utah close.
The Thunderbird’s first lead of the second half came when Housley finished an old-fashioned three-point play to give his team a 74-73 lead. The Bobcats made a three on their next possession to regain the lead with 1:49 to play.
AND ONEEEEE!! House gives us the leads with under 2:30 to play! pic.twitter.com/VZW2sSXfRA
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) December 20, 2023
Prophet Johnson blocked a Bobcat shot in the final minute, leading to a game-tying layup from Ford with 31 seconds left.
Tied at 76, Montana State missed a layup at the horn to force overtime.
Overtime
Fallah scored the first four points of overtime to give SUU its largest lead since early in the first half. After two Bobcat free throws, house hit a driving layup to put his team back in front by four with 2:30 to play.
House puts us up by four!! Coming down the stretch in overtime pic.twitter.com/X3SvErKcWb
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) December 20, 2023
After trading layups on four straight possessions, Robert Ford III hit a three to bring MSU with one in the final minute.
Housley missed a pair of free throws with five seconds left, giving the Bobcats one chance to force a second overtime or win with a three.
BRIAN GORACKE WINS IT AT THE BUZZER @MarchMadnessMBB | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/W9ouTycSM0
— Montana State Men’s Basketball (@MSUBobcatsMBB) December 20, 2023
After a timeout, Montana State ran a beautiful out-of-bounds play that freed up Brian Goracke for the game-winning three to beat the buzzer. MSU won 89-88.
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The Thunderbirds return to Cedar City for a date with Middle Tennessee (5-6) on Friday, December 22. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (MT).
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