@unco_mbb Takes No. 8 Arizona To The Wire

Monday, November 21

Tucson, AZ

7:00 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

1-3

University of Arizona

4-0

Northern Colorado

Arizona

11/21/2016 9:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Northern Colorado hung around with No. 8 team in the country in Arizona on Monday night for 36 minutes until the Wildcats used a 12-2 run to hand UNC a 71-55 loss

By: Kobee Stalder, UNCBears.com

TUCSON, Ariz. – Northern Colorado (1-3, 0-0 Big Sky) was in a dogfight on Monday night at No. 8 Arizona (4-0, 0-0 Pac 12). The Bears took a halftime lead into the locker room, but eventually shots began to drop for the Wildcats, using a 12-2 run in the final four minutes of the game to pull away from UNC for the win, 71-55.

How It Happened:
Northern Colorado gave the Wildcats everything it had in the first half. A strong defensive effort by the Bears kept Arizona in check as they shot just 37% from the field.

Through the first six minutes of the game the lead changed ten different times between the teams as they traded bucket-for-bucket.

Arizona took its largest lead of the half (19-15), but UNC responded nicely with a redshirt sophomore, Ibrahim Sylla dunk and a freshman forward, Roberto Vercellino three-ball for a five-point swing in favor of the Bears.

Redshirt sophomore guard, Chaz Glotta sank his third three-pointer of half, giving UNC the lead back (25-24) at the 5:41 mark, a lead they didn't relinquish for the remainder of the period.

Glotta was the high-scorer for the Bears at the half with nine points, all coming from beyond the arc.

The biggest difference in the first 20 minutes of the game was the bench production for UNC as the Bears got six points from freshman forward, Kai Edwards. Edwards also hauled in four boards in the 10 minutes of court time.

UNC also did well cleaning up the glass, outrebounding the Wildcats 21-17 after the first act.

The Bears hung tight for the first 13 minutes of the second half, never letting the 'Zona lead to get more than five points.

UNC's offense began to slow after the first five minutes of the second half went by, going on a three-plus minute scoring drought, allowing the Wildcats to take over the lead 37-36.

Glotta ended the drought with his fourth three of the game to push the lead back in favor of UNC, 39-37 with 14:11 to go.

The turning point in the contest came when sophomore guard, Jordan Davis was pegged for his fourth foul of the game, forcing him to head to the bench.

After Davis took his leave, Northern Colorado went on its second dry spell of the half, that one lasting over four minutes.

The Wildcats took advantage and extended its lead to five (44-39) with 10:10 to play in the game and head coach, Jeff Linder quickly sent Davis back into the game.

Arizona's lead continued to grow, but UNC never shied away from the challenge. Another Glotta three and a traditional three-point play from senior forward, Jon'te Dotson got the deficit back down to four (51-47) with a little under eight minutes to play.

Unfortunately, Northern Colorado's offense stalled out once again at the wrong time as 'Zona was able to outscore the Bears 12-2 over the remaining four and half minutes to seal the victory.

Game Changer:
Northern Colorado was able to hang around due to excellent three-point shooting, especially from redshirt sophomore guard, Chaz Glotta. Glotta finished with 15 points, all coming from beyond the arc, finishing 5-of-11 on the night.

Key Stat(s):
The Bears' 3-2 zone defense caused problems all night for the Wildcats, but shots started to fall, especially in the second half. Arizona finished the last 20 minutes of the game 52% from the field, compared to 37% they shot in the first half.

Arizona made UNC fouls count, going 19-of-23 (83%) from the free throw line, while the Bears were just 6-of-14 (43%) from the charity stripe.

In Their Words:
Head Coach, Jeff Linder
"To come in to one of the top venues in college basketball and play like we did against, really, a top five team in the country and against one of the best coaches is a testament to the strides this team is making."

"If you were to sit there and tell me that we would come in to the McKale Center and play a team that has probably a top three pick in the draft in Markkanen and with two seven-footers on the floor and two 6-10 guys coming off the bench and we outrebound them by one, that just shows you the guys are buying in to what we are talking about."

"Tonight the zone really caused a lot of issues (for Arizona) – early on in the year it's amazing what the zone can do and we have to do it because we know Jordan [Davis] is going to get in foul trouble, so in order to kind of protect him and knowing some of the lineups they had, I thought it was advantageous for us to go zone."

"This team is growing and if they can take that intensity they showed tonight on to Las Vegas, we can start to find ways to win games. We have a resilient group. For all the things that are stacked against us this year, these guys don't even blink. All they're going to do is come out and compete and play their tails off. Hopefully as the season goes on we can keep building and building. We're trying to lay the groundwork for sustained success at UNC."

Notables:
- Jordan Davis notched his fourth-straight 20-point game of the season, finishing with 20 points and five assists.
- Northern Colorado outrebounded the Wildcats in the loss, 35-34.
- UNC finished the night shooting 40% (21-of-53) from the field and 37% (7-of-19) from three-point range.
- Redshirt freshman guard, Jonah Radebaugh led the team in rebounding for the second time this season, finishing with seven boards.
- Lauri Markkanen led the way for Arizona on the night. Markkanen finished with a double-double, 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Up Next:
The Bears are off to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. UNC will compete in the Las Vegas Invitational and will play Sacred Heart on Thursday, Nov. 24 with a 3:00 p.m. tip. The team will either face Norkfolk State or Bucknell the following day, Nov. 25. Tip time is TBD depending on the outcome of Thursday's contest.