University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, November 13
Lawrence, KS
6:00 p.m.
University of Northern Colorado
0-1
72
at
109
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University of Kansas
1-0
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Northern Colorado
31
41
72
Kansas
53
56
109
Team Stats
UNCO
KU
FG%
.393
.557
3FG%
.333
.577
FT%
.808
.765
RB
30
38
TO
21
15
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Pts
27
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
9
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Rob Trubia
Michael Drops Career-High 27 Points in @unco_mbb Loss at #4 Kansas
11/13/2015 9:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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(11/13/2015) Men's Basketball: at #4 Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Northern Colorado (0-1) had quite the challenge on Friday night when they took on no.4 Kansas (1-0) in historic Allen Fieldhouse. It was the first time UNC had faced a Top 10 opponent since 2004 when they took on no. 6 Syracuse.
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Northern Colorado (0-1) had quite the challenge on Friday night when they took on no.4 Kansas (1-0) in historic Allen Fieldhouse. It was the first time UNC had faced a Top 10 opponent since 2004 when they took on no. 6 Syracuse.
The Bears kept the game within reach for the majority of the first half, but foul trouble and a scoring drought in the second half gave the Jayhawks the opportunity to open up the game, and they did so, putting up 56 points in the last 20 minutes of the game to take it, 109-72.
"What a great experience for our guys. I'm really happy with the way a couple of them played and competed and the way they came out," head coach B.J. Hill said. "I'm proud of our guys – this wasn't K-State, but this was a great experience for them and we'll learn from it and we'll get better and that's all you can ask."
There were some bright spots in the game for UNC.
Junior guard, Cameron Michael set a new career-high in points, ending his night with 27 on 8-of-16 shooting, including 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. He led all scorers in the loss.
Fellow junior guard, Anthony Johnson also put up a career-high in points with 17. Johnson shot 6-of-13 from the field and scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half.
The third junior in double figures was guard, Jordan Wilson. Wilson eclipsed the double-digit mark late in the game, finishing with 11 points and a team-high four assists.
Kansas had five players finish with at least 10 points and out-shot the Bears from the field, 56 percent to 39 percent.
Northern Colorado kept it within single digits for the first 10 minutes after KU jumped out to a 10-2 lead at the 15:09 mark.
Three straight buckets from Michael, including one from downtown put the guys from Greeley within four of the Jayhawks, 15-11.
KU did what the no.4 team in the nation should do, push the lead back out to a comfortable margin, but again UNC battled back thanks to a pair of makes at the free throw line from Michael and a big three-ball from Johnson to make it a seven-point deficit, 27-20 with 7:48 to go until intermission.
"I'm not overly disappointed in the way they played (defensively)," said Hill. "The things that make me upset as a coach tonight are when we didn't do the things that we've drilled and drilled and drilled. I thought we had five or six guys execute those things really well and I thought we had some guys that were off a little bit – again this is the second youngest team I've had in my six years here, so those things are expected."
The Bears pulled within six (29-23) half a minute later from another three-pointer, this time from Wilson, but would come no closer in the half as the Jayhawks went on a 20-8 in the final seven minutes of action to send Northern Colorado into the locker room with a 53-31 deficit.
UNC finished the first half 12-of-28 (42.9%) from the floor and hit 4-of-12 (33.3%) from beyond the arc.
Hill's squad had a tough time defending the Jayhawks in transition, resulting 13 fast break points in the first 20 minutes of the game.
"Obviously, Coach Self knows a whole lot more than I do, but just watching them on film and being a fan of his for so long – they move the ball and share the ball as well as any team of his that I've seen recently," Hill said of the Jayhawks. "They're just really an unselfish group right now. They're a whole other level in transition and we talked about it, but you have a hard time simulating it in your practices."
Foul trouble plagued the team in the second half, resulting in three Bears (Jordan Davis, Johnson, Spencer Mathis) fouling out of the game, putting KU in the bonus just seven minutes into the second half.
The Bears matched the Jayhawks point-for-point in the early goings of the second half, but eventually UNC went on a cold streak and Bill Self's crew heated up, putting a large margin between the two teams.
With the scoreboard reading, 61-41 (17:05), in favor of KU, the 'Hawks went on a decisive 23-6 run that consumed close to seven minutes of play, putting Northern Colorado well out of reach of a comeback.
The Bears never gave up, which is one aspect of the game coach Hill was proud about, and played until the final buzzer sounded.
UNC finished just 10-of-28 (35.7%) from the field in the second half, but maintained their three-point percentage, dropping in 3-of-9 (33.3%). Meanwhile, the Jayhawks put on a display in the last half, ending 17-of-28 (60.7%) from inside the arc and knocked down 8-of-12 (66.7%) from three-point land.
"We have to rely on the fundamentals – I know it sounds like a 'Hoosiers' movie, but that's what we have to do," Hill added. "When relying on those fundamentals becomes habit, then it doesn't matter what atmosphere you're playing in you rely on what's been ingrained in you every day."
Northern Colorado has a quick turnaround and a heavy November schedule, playing three games next week, starting with their home-opener against Colorado Christian on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7:00 p.m.
UNC will then host the Maui Jim Maui Regional Tournament on Nov. 21-22, when Austin Peay, Cal Poly, and Maryland-Baltimore County all come to Bank of Colorado Arena.
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