NAU beats N. Colorado on Dunn buzzer beater

Published Jan. 24, 2013 8:04 p.m. ET

foxsports

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -- Mike Dunn's basket at the buzzer gave Northern Arizona a 67-65 victory over Northern Colorado on Thursday night.

Dunn's shot followed a 3-point basket by Tevin Svihovec with 4.8 seconds left that enabled Northern Colorado (5-12, 3-6 Big Sky) to tie it at 65.

On the inbound play, senior Stallon Saldivar dribbled the length of the court and hit
Dunn on the left baseline. Dunn took two steps
in and hit a 6-foot floater to help the Lumberjacks improve to 7-12 and 4-5
in the Big Sky Conference.

“Stallon got Mike the ball in the perfect spot, and Mike hit the shot,”
said NAU coach Jack Murphy. “I am sure I am going to be on the other
end of those. It is not a good feeling, because Northern Colorado played a
great game. But we are excited tonight.”

Gabe Rogers scored a season-high 28 points for Northern Arizona (7-12, 4-5), finishing 4 of 9 from 3-point range. DeWayne Russell had 13 points and six assists for the Lumberjacks.

Svihovec finished with 16 points. Derrick Barden scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Tim Huskisson scored 10 points.

Northern Colorado led by as many as 10 points in the first half before NAU responded with a 14-4 run to tie the score at 20 at the 7:15 mark. The Bears had a two-point edge at the break.

In a game that featured six lead changes and five ties, both teams
shared the lead in the second half. Rogers put the Lumberjacks on top
with a deep 3-pointer with 1:29 left that made it 63-62. The teams
exchanged turnovers and missed shots before Rogers hit two free throws
with 14 seconds left to setup the final two possessions.

NAU has won back-to-back games for the first time all season and has four wins in league play after going just 1-15 last season.

“To get on a winning streak finally feels good,” Dunn said. “We are not done. We have North Dakota (on Saturday), who is a good team and in third place right now. Beating them would be key. We want to get on a roll and get back to .500 in conference.”

NAU hosts North Dakota on Saturday at 2:05 p.m.