@unco_mbb Can't Hang on Against Idaho State

Thursday, January 19

Greeley, CO

7:00 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

7-11, 3-4BSC

Idaho State University

4-14, 1-4BSC

Idaho State

Northern Colorado

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

1/19/2017 10:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Kobee Stalder, UNCBears.com

Box Score

GREELEY, Colo. - Northern Colorado (7-11, 3-4 Big Sky) wasn't able to hold on down the stretch against Idaho State (4-14, 1-4 Big Sky) falling to the Bengals 73-69 on Thursday night.

How It Happened:
A plethora of threes in the first half allowed UNC to lead by as many as 16 over ISU. After trailing 6-0 to Idaho State, the Bears rattled off 17 straight points behind three straight triples from junior guard, DJ Miles.

Redshirt sophomore guard, Chaz Glotta took over the three-point duties, scoring 15 of his 16 first half points from beyond the arc.

With 9:40 remaining until intermission, a redshirt freshman guard, Jonah Radebaugh lay-in made it a 25-9 game in favor of the guys from Greeley.

The Bears maintained their double-digit lead, or close to, for the rest of the half as they headed into the break on top, 43-32.

Northern Colorado connected on 11-of-22 (50%) shots from three-point land in the first half, scoring 33 of its 43 points on long balls.

UNC couldn't keep pace in the second act as foul trouble from Miles and Dotson forced the duo to sit crucial minutes.

As the Bears struggled to find rhythm on the offensive end, Idaho State chipped away at the lead and evened up the contest at 57-57 with 7:02 to play off a Brandon Boyd finish in the paint.

Freshman forward, Roberto Vercellino came off the bench down the stretch and aided Northern Colorado with five points, a three and a layup to keep the Bears out in front 64-62 with a little under five minutes to go.

Both teams traded buckets, until another Glotta three, his sixth of the night, gave UNC a one-point, 69-68 lead with 2:29 left.

Unfortunately, that would be the Bears last field goal of the game

After a UNC turnover, Idaho State's Ethan Telfair drove the lane and got the fade away lay-in to fall, tilting the scoreboard in favor of the Bengals, 70-69.

With 10 seconds remaining, sophomore guard, Jordan Davis pushed the floor to tie the game and drew contact, giving him a chance to even things up at the line, but his free throws fell short and ISU sealed up its first Big Sky win at the other end.

Davis and Glotta led all scorers in the loss with 19 points. Miles was the other Bear to reach double figures with 11.

The Bengals had four players reach double figures, paced by Telfair's 14.

Game Changer:
It was a case of live and die by the three for UNC. The Bears were an impressive 11-of-22 (50%) in the first half, but converted just 2-of-13 (15%) in the second, as they were held to just 26 points in the last 20 minutes of the ball game.

Key Stat:
Idaho State finished the game 54% from the field, going 26-of-48 and finished an even 50% from the perimeter, knocking down 9-of-18.

In Their Words:
Head Coach, Jeff Linder
"It's a tough one to swallow, but as I told the guys if anyone wants to walk out of the locker room feeling sorry for themselves, don't plan on playing on Saturday. You could use youth as an excuse, but I don't think that was an excuse tonight it was just our inability to make free throws when it mattered, but they're (Idaho State) also the same team for the most part that came in here and won by forty and took it to them at Idaho State last year."

"I can't fault anything our guys did, they played hard and did everything we asked them to do and it ended up being a make or miss game, and when you miss that many free throws I don't care who you're playing - if you're playing the first place team, the last place team, a division three team, it doesn't matter. If you're going to go 6-of-19 from the foul line you're going to give any team you play, regardless of what level, a chance to win."

"All you can do is move on and I'm sure JD (Jordan Davis) will be in the gym right now shooting a thousand free throws and that's what good players do. That's why at the end of the day he's going to be a great guard in this league because he cares. He really, really cares. I don't have to go in and say anything because he already feels bad and he'll step up when that moment comes again."

Notables:
- UNC shot just 31% at the free throw line on the night, finishing 6-of-19, including 4-of-13 in the second half.
- Jonah Radebaugh recorded a career-high and game-high in rebounds with 12.
- Along with his 19 points, Jordan Davis also tallied seven rebounds and six assists.
- Chaz Glotta's 19 points was also a new career-high for the redshirt sophomore.
- The Bears edged out the Bengals in the rebound battle 39-37.
- Northern Colorado ended the night 25-of-55 (45.5%) from the field and 13-of-35 (37.1%) from three-point range.
- The Bengals outscored the Bears 41-26 in the second half.

Up Next:
Men's hoops now has a quick turnaround as Weber State (9-7, 4-1 Big Sky) comes to Bank of Colorado Arena after an 83-77 loss at North Dakota. Tip against the Wildcats is slated for 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan .21.