Men's basketball stays hot, glides past NAU

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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Senior Will Figures scored a game-high 21 points against Northern Arizona on Saturday night and junior Devon Beitzel added 15 in Northern Colorado's 75-66 road win in the Walkup Skydome.

The Bears (13-3, 2-1 Big Sky) fell behind 6-4 in the opening minutes before going on a 14-3 run, spanning a little more than seven minutes, to take control at 18-9 and never trailed again.

Northern Colorado (No. 19 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25) made 25 of 29 free throws in the win and swiped eight steals against the Lumberjacks (6-8, 0-3) to earn its first win in Flagstaff since beginning play with NAU during the 1983-84 season.

The Bears, who have won four in a row and five of their last six and already are just one victory short of matching last year's win total, limited the ‘Jacks to 26.1 percent shooting in the first half and connected on all four of their second-half three-point attempts and 12 of their 13 second-half free-throw tries.

"We kind of had to grind this one out a little bit," Northern Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "But we play with such composure -- Will was terrific in the second half, Devon played with good composure, Neal hit a big shot there for us -- we just have a confident group right now. I think guys know their roles and have a feel for it."

The Bears took a 33-27 lead into the halftime locker room, but NAU struck first in the second half, pulling within three at 33-30. NC extended the lead to nine with a 6-0 run thereafter and eventually led 51-39 at the 13:34 mark.

The Lumberjacks cut Northern Colorado's lead to eight a few different times in the second half, but each time the Bears were able to answer the call and quiet the home crowd.

Northern Colorado, 9-3 in road or neutral games this season after finishing 4-14 in those games last year, will start a stretch of six home games out of eight at 7:05 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, when Weber State, the top pick in both the media and coaches Big Sky Conference preseason polls, comes calling to Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.

"We're just playing well right now," Boyle said. "The good thing is we didn't play our best tonight, and we still won.  We had to grind it out. So this team still hasn't peaked yet, and that's the good news. We've still got a lot of things we need to work on and get better at.

"We talked today (prior to the game) that we were going to leave here tonight either 2-1 or 1-2. And if we're 2-1 in three road games, we've put ourselves in a good position. But this is a marathon. It's not a sprint. We've just got to stay focused. The most consistent team in our league wins our league. Weber State has done that two out of the last three years unbelievably well, and hopefully we can learn from them."

Senior Yahosh Bonner, who scored a career-high 19 points in Northern Colorado's last Big Sky game at Montana in early December, finished with 14 points against NAU and four assists and three steals.

Boyle said he was most pleased with that last stat. Bonner continues to be one of the Big Sky Conferences preeminent defensive players.

"(Yahosh) was really solid," he said. "Yahosh has found his niche on this team -- it's not on the offensive end. He had 14 points tonight ... but what I love about Yahosh is that last year he would worry about it when he played poorly on the offensive end or he didn't put up the numbers. But this year, he couldn't care less. He just wants to help our team win and he's doing it. Without Yahosh Bonner I don't know where we'd be."

Figures scored 17 of his 21 in the second half and is now five points shy of becoming Northern Colorado's 13th 1,000-point scorer and third since the Bears transitioned to NCAA Division I (Kirk Archibeque and Sean Taibi).

Big Sky Conference ticket package to go on sale Tuesday!

Northern Colorado Athletics is proud to announce a new way for its men's basketball fans to secure reserved seating for the hottest show in town.

Starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, a nine-game ticket package (eight remaining Big Sky games plus the Bears' contest against Johnson & Wales) will be available for purchase for just $100 by calling 970-351-4TIX or by visiting the University Center Information Center on the Northern Colorado campus.

This package not only ensures fans a great seat for the Bears' remaining home contests, it will also alleviate the stress of waiting in line to purchase tickets on game day and then trying to find a seat prior to tip off once inside Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.

Get your tickets starting Tuesday and know that you'll be present this season as Tad Boyle's Bears continue their march toward a first Big Sky Conference championship and berth into NCAA March Madness.