Andre Spight has seen a lot in four years of college basketball. So, when the time was ticking down, there wasn’t going to be another player on the team to touch the ball.
It paid off when Spight took the inbounds pass, drove to half court and threw up a prayer that was answered in the back of the net, sending Bank of Colorado area into a frenzy and giving UNC (4-3 Big Sky, 13-7 overall) a 94-91 win over North Dakota (2-5, 7-12) in overtime Saturday night.
“I was always that kid who was messing around, shooting it from so far,” Spight said. “To see it go in for the game winner means a lot because I’ve hit that shot so many times.”
Spight’s buzzer beater capped a 34-point game that included seven 3-pointers and tied him with former Bear Tevin Svihovec for third place for most points scored in a game.
Spight sent the game to overtime with three clutch free throws with 14 seconds left. UND tied it up with put back layup by sophomore center Conner Avants.
“If he misses that shot or we end up losing that game, I won’t sleep for a long time,” coach Jeff Linder said. “Give credit to the team because when they got slapped in the face with that put back and to go into overtime and to rally themselves. That was a step in the right direction for us as a team.”
Jordan Davis and Tanner Morgan also poured in good games with 19 and 11 points, respectively.
North Dakota guard Geno Crandall led the Fighting Hawks with 30 points but had to watch the final 30 seconds of overtime from the bench as he fouled out.
The Win gives UNC an 8-2 record at home which is the third best in the conference, behind Montana and Weber State.
