Northern Colorado holds off late Hawaii comeback bid, 81-78

Updated Nov. 12, 2021 2:25 a.m. ET

Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — Matt Johnson II hit a pair of free throws with four seconds left to allow Northern Colorado to hold off a furious Hawaii comeback bid and earn an 81-78 win Thursday night.

The Bears led by as many as 26 points in the second half, but the Warriors roared back and cut the deficit to a single point, 78-77 with :04 left when JoVon McClanahan hit two free throws.

Johnson was fouled on the in-bounds pass and pushed the Northern Colorado lead back to three points. Hawaii's Noel Coleman hit the first of two free throws to make it 80-78. Dalton Knecht hit the second of two free throws with a second left to make it 81-78. Hawaii got the ball with a second left but turned it over.

Daylen Kountz and Dru Kuxhausen each scored 21 points to lead Northern Colorado (2-0). Bodie Hume added 16 points and Kur Jongkuch grabbed 11 rebounds.

Jerome Desrosiers scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Hawaii (1-1). Kamaka Hepa, Bernardo da Silva and Noel Coleman each added 14 points.

___

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25