GREELEY, Colo. - The Southern Utah University Men's basketball team saw a 17 point second-half lead dissipate, as Northern Colorado used a 32-10 run over the final five and a half minutes of play to shock the Thunderbirds, 100-95.

The T-Birds (16-8, 10-4) struggled out of the gate, falling behind 11-2 early, and trailing the entire first half. The Bears led by as many as fourteen in the first period; however, a John Knight III coast-to-coast layup at the halftime buzzer cut the deficit to nine going into the break.

In the second half, Southern Utah came out on fire, knocking down 10 of their first 12 shots to build an eight-point lead with 14 minutes remaining.

The T-Birds were able to increase their lead to 17 after a made three-pointer by Jason Spurgin with 5:37 left in the game.

It was all Northern Colorado after that, as the Thunderbirds went 1-6 from the field, and committed five turnovers in the final five and a half minutes of play. 

The Bears were able to shoot a perfect 10-10 from the field throughout that same stretch, taking a three-point lead off of two made free throws with 14 seconds to play. Tevian Jones had a shot to tie it with four seconds left but missed wide right, and the Bears went on to pick up the win.

It was a tale of two halves for the Thunderbirds. After an abysmal first half on the offensive side of the game, they were able to light up the stat sheet in the second period, shooting a remarkable 64.5 percent (20-31) from the field, while making five threes on eight attempts.

Southern Utah had four starters in double figures, led by Jason Spurgin's career-high 22-point performance. 

Senior Maizen Fausett poured in 20 points of his own, reaching the 1,000 point mark for his career.

Tevian Jones (17) and John Knight III (15) were the other T-Birds in double figures.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as SUU surrendered 100 points, allowing the Bears to shoot 64 percent from the field and 50 percent from three for the game.

Daylen Kountz, the Big Sky's leading scorer, dropped 30 points on the night to lead the Bears in the comeback victory.

Notable Stats

• The biggest highlight of the night for Southern Utah, was senior Maizen Fausett reaching the 1,000 point mark for his career while putting up 20 points in the game.

• Jason Spurgin set a new career-high with 22 points on 8-9 shooting.

• John Knight III dished out 6 assists and tallied 3 steals on the night to go along with his 15-point outing.

• The Thunderbirds scored 60 points in the second half, shooting 64.5% from the field.

Up Next

Southern Utah returns home after a three-game road stretch to face the number one team in the conference, Montana State, on Saturday, February 19. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. MT, and the game is available for viewing on ESPN+.

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