@unco_mbb Handed Lopsided Loss at Montana

Thursday, January 12

Missoula, MT

7:00 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

7-9, 3-2BSC

University of Montana

9-9, 4-1BSC

Northern Colorado

Montana

1/12/2017 10:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Kobee Stalder, UNCBears.com

MISSOULA, Mont. - Northern Colorado (7-9, 3-2 Big Sky) endured its first Big Sky road loss of the season at Montana (9-9, 4-1 Big Sky) on Thursday night 89-68.

How It Happened:
The Griz led wire-to-wire in the contest, jumping out to an 18-5 lead over the Bears just five minutes into the game and never looked back.

UNC's deficit built to as many as 22 points over the first half and the Bears went into the intermission down 50-30.

Montana used a barrage of three-balls throughout the contest to put Northern Colorado into a hole they could not climb out of.

The Griz connected on 15-of-31 (48%) from downtown, scoring 45 of their 89 points beyond the perimeter.

UNC, on the other hand, was held to just four treys on the night, almost five below their season average.

Montana grew the advantage to 31 in the second half, before the Bears reeled off a 14-0 run to cut the difference down to 17 (77-60) with 4:59 remaining in the game.

Northern Colorado wasn't able to sustain its comeback efforts in the last five minutes as UM handed the Bears their first lopsided loss in conference play.

The Davis brothers led UNC on the night. Junior guard, Gerad Davis finished with a double-double, scoring a career-high and game-high 23 points, along with hauling in a career-best 12 rebounds.

Sophomore guard, Jordan Davis wasn't far behind his older brother, ending the game with 19 points and three assists.

Those were the only two players to record double figures for the team on the night.

The Griz were paced by Ahmaad Rorie's 19 points, while Jack Lopez and Michael Oguine both tallied 18.

Game Changer:
Montana had three players in double figures by the end of the first half in Ahmaad Rorie, Jack Lopez and Michael Oguine, aiding the Griz to a 50-30 lead at halftime.

Key Stat:
UM's 15 made three-pointers were the most allowed by UNC's defense all season.

In Their Words:
Head Coach, Jeff Linder
"Our guys knew the challenge they faced tonight and give them (Montana) credit, they came in here focused and they weren't looking ahead to the North Dakota game. They're a group where if you're not disciplined defensively, and if you can't guard the ball, they put you in a lot of bad positions because they have a couple of guards in [Amhaad] Rorie and [Walter] Wright who can put you in some binds. They don't need a lot of plays because those guys can create plays."

"It was a big night for Gerad Davis. Coming off that knee surgery, I told him that he probably wasn't going to be very good until the end of January, but to not get frustrated and get down on himself. He just needed to keep working and eventually he'd feel comfortable again. I thought tonight, in a game where maybe we were a little scared early on, he was guy that came in and played really well and really hard and made some winning plays."

Notables:
- The Bears defense allowed the second-highest field goal percentage and highest three-point field goal percentage of the season as Montana shot 52.5% from the field and 48.4% from beyond the arc.
- UNC finished 22-of-54 (40.7%) from the floor and just 4-of-14 (28.6) from three-point land. It was the third time this season the team had been held to under 30% shooting from the perimeter.
- Jordan Davis has now scored in double figures in 21 straight games dating back to last season and will look to break the Division I record of 21-straight double-digit performances on Saturday at Montana State.
- Northern Colorado went 20-of-29 (69%) from the free throw line in the loss, including making 15-of-20 (75%) In the second half.
- Montana extends its all-time series lead to 20-9 against the Bears.
- UNC was out-rebounded in 40-33 by the Griz.

Up Next:
Northern Colorado will now travel to Bozeman, Montana to take on Montana State on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 2:00 p.m. The Bobcats are also coming off a loss, falling to North Dakota 90-85.