BOZEMAN, MT -- Another game ends in absolute heartbreak for the SUU Men's Basketball Team as they fall to Montana St in overtime, 88-89 on a buzzer-beating three. This makes two games in a row that the Thunderbirds have lost on a buzzer-beating bucket.
"That's a tough way to lose. You are battling the whole game and it comes down to one possession and we have to be able to get a stop when we need it. Two-game road stretch and we lost on two buzzer-beaters," said Head Coach Rob Jeter.
Game Recap
The Bobcats led for 28 minutes in the contest but the final minutes of regulation saw both teams going back and forth. A driving layup by Dominique Ford tied the game at 76 with 30 seconds left, the Bobcats missed a layup with four seconds left and Braden Housley barely missed on a half-court heave to win the game at the end of regulation.
In overtime, the Thunderbirds pushed the lead to as many as four but the Bobcats would hang around. After two free throws by Prophet Johnson, SUU maintained an 86-82 lead with 45 seconds left, Robert Ford III hit a three to cut SUU's lead to one with just 30 seconds remaining. Zion Young went to the foul line for SUU and made a pair of free throws. An offensive rebound for the Bobcats on their next possession put Brandon Walker at the line where he went one for two. With five seconds remaining, Braden Housley missed two free-throws and the Bobcats were able to advance the ball and call a timeout with 2.8 seconds on the clock. A three-pointer by Brian Goracke gave the Bobcats a one-point lead at the buzzer.
Statistical Recap
The Thunderbirds were unbelievable from the free-throw line, making 33 of 39 attempts. Other than that it was a poor night offensively for SUU, shooting just 34% from the field and 18% from three. Ford paced the Thunderbirds in scoring with 25 on the night, a season-high for him, to go along with six rebounds and one assist. Housley also scored in the 20's with 21 of his own. Parsa Fallah had another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds on just six shot attempts. Zion Young was the other Thunderbirds in double-digits with 13 points. Prophet Johnson had another do-it-all game for SUU, he had eight points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
Five different Thunderbirds had at least one steal on the night, Housley leading the category with four.
MSU shot the ball really well at nearly 47% from the floor and 43% from three. Goracke led the team with 23 points on 4-8 from three.
"We are continuing to learn and grow. Obviously, we are just a couple of plays away, but these games will eventually start to go our way," said Jeter.
Up Next
The Thunderbirds will return to the America First Event Center to take on the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee on Friday, Dec 22 at 6:30 p.m.
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