University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, January 30
Greeley, CO
7:00 p.m.
University of Northern Colorado
8-13, 5-4BSC
71
vs
70
University of North Dakota
10-10, 5-4BSC
1
2
F
North Dakota
40
30
70
Northern Colorado
34
37
71
Team Stats
UND
UNCO
FG%
.491
.464
3FG%
.385
.273
FT%
.765
.684
RB
30
37
TO
16
15
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
@unco_mbb Outlasts North Dakota 71-70
1/30/2016 10:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UNC's defense stood tall in the final seconds of the game, getting a stop to pick up their fourth straight win.
PDF BOX SCORE
GREELEY, Colo. – A freshman guard, Jordan Davis floater with 10 seconds to play and a junior guard, Jordan Wilson stop at the other end of the court sealed Northern Colorado's (8-13, 5-4 Big Sky) 71-70 win over North Dakota (10-10, 5-4 Big Sky) on Saturday night.
After Davis' runner, Wilson contested UND's Quinton Hooker's potential game-winner in the final seconds to assure the team's victory.
"I was just trying to stay with him and make him beat me," said Wilson on the stop. "I wasn't trying to gamble or anything – it was hard not to foul, but he came downhill at me and created the contact, but I kept my hands out the whole time and kept with him step-for-step."
The Bear have now won four straight games thanks to Davis' 17 point performance. It's the third straight for the freshman reaching at least 15 points.
"When I first got the ball I kind of decided what I wanted to do with it early because I had been getting to the rim a lot and I knew they were going to try to take a charge," Davis added about his go-ahead bucket. "I picked my floater just because of the fact that Coach Murphy and I had put so much time into it, I knew it would come in handy."
Junior guard, Anthony Johnson also finished with 17 points in his first start in seven games. Combined, Davis and Johnson shot 11-of-21 (52.3%) from the field in the one-point edge. Johnson also snagged seven rebounds, while Davis brought down five.
After four straight points from UND's Drick Bernstine, the Bears found themselves behind 63-59 with 3:18 to play in the game. Bernstine led all scorers in the game with 21 points.
UNC capitalized on two makes at the line from Johnson and a layup by Davis to tie the game (63-63) with 2:40 to go.
The Fighting Hawks regained the lead on the heels of Bernstine with another bucket and a Quinton Hooker lay-in off an offensive rebound to take a three-point advantage, 68-65 with 1:26 left on the clock.
Johnson cashed in on a three-point play the old fashioned way on the very next possession to tie the game up at 68 apiece, setting up Davis' game-winner.
It was the third straight game in which Northern Colorado outrebounded its opponent, hauling in 37 rebounds to the Fighting Hawks' 30.
For second time in as many games junior forward, Tanner Morgan led the team in boards. Morgan grabbed nine to go with his nine points.
Junior guard, Dallas Anglin led the team in assists, dishing out five, just one shy of his career-high.
The Bears finished 26-of-56 (46.4%) from the floor, but struggled from the perimeter, connecting on just 6-of-22 (27.3%).
"I don't think we played our best game, but I think North Dakota had a lot to do with that," head coach B.J. Hill said. "We kept fighting back and we didn't give in and we got through an extremely ugly first half where we didn't follow the game plan very well, but we found a way to stay in the game."
After gaining an early advantage (10-9), UNC fell behind after a Fighting Hawks three-ball (17-14) at the 10:50 mark and trailed for the remainder of the half, going into the locker room down by six, 40-34 after a Wilson trey at the buzzer.
Wilson finished with 12 points and four boards, extending his streak to 21 straight games in double figures.
"The way they started (the second half) game them confidence – I was pretty hard on them at halftime, but to their credit, the things we talked about at half time they did a good job executing," Hill added. "Not everybody played well, but that's the mark of a good team when other guys step up and pick each other up."
The guys from Greeley didn't see a lead (45-44) until the 16:22 left to play in the second half thanks to a runner from Wilson.
The game was back-and-forth from there, until the late rally from Northern Colorado to end the game.
Men's hoops remains at home for the next two games, facing Weber State (Feb. 4) and Idaho State (Feb. 6). The Bears lost to both teams on the road earlier in the season.
Stats of the Game:
- UNC turned turnovers into points, scoring 19 points off of the 16 UND turnovers. Davis led the team in steals with four, tying his career-high.
- The Bears shot 50.0% from the floor in the second half, converting on 13-of-26 baskets.
UNC Weekly Press Conference - Steve Smiley (Feb. 24)
Tuesday, February 24
Steve Smiley, Quinn Denker and Brock Wisne Press Conference vs NAU
Saturday, February 21
UNC Weekly Press Conference - Steve Smley (Feb 17)
Tuesday, February 17
Steve Smiley Quinn Denker and Brock Wisne vs Portland State
Saturday, February 14
