Recap: @UNCO_MBB Uses Second Half Surge to Post Second Consecutive Win

Tuesday, November 21

Greeley, Colo.

7pm

University of Northern Colorado

2-2

Northern New Mexico College

2-12

Northern New Mexico

Northern Colorado

11/22/2017 12:18:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Kurt Maddox, UNCBears.com

Greeley, Colo.—We may look back to the final minutes of the first half of the UNC men's basketball team's 99-60 blowout of Northern New Mexico College later in the year as the moment it all started to click for the Bears. UNC used a 9-2 run to take a 35-27 lead into the locker room and then blitzed the Eagles with 64 second half points on 52% shooting for the runaway win.

How It Happened
After leading the Bears in scoring through the first three game, senior Andre Spight played the part of provider early on in the contest with four assists in the first seven minutes of the game. Those dimes helped UNC make a 13-3 run after they trailed early, 7-5. The Bears took notice of Spight's generosity, emulating his play with eight total assists on their first 13 baskets.

NNMC made short bursts to stay in the contest, but UNC used stifling defense to force 13 first half Eagles turnovers. UNC scored 10 points off turnovers in the first half.

The Bears came out of the locker red still hot, extended their run to 21-5 and pulled away for good.

Just as in the Pepperdine game, the Bears were aggressive taking it to the hoop, forcing NNMC into 28 fouls and getting to the line 30 times for the game. UNC hit 22 of those 30 freebies to just eight made free throws on 17 attempts for NNMC.

Game Changer
Anthony Johnson is relishing his opportunities coming off the bench. Ant nailed four of eight threes and seven of 16 shots overall to finish with a team-best 18 points to go with five board and two assists in just 23 minutes of action.

Key Stat
UNC totaled 16 assists on 32 made buckets. In the previous three games, Northern Colorado averaged only eight assists a game.

In Their Words
Redshirt Senior Guard Anthony Johnson
On getting a shooting rhythm off the bench
"I just have to get my feet under me and get a little warm. With a little confidence, they start to fall and my teammates telling me to move on and forget the last shot. With that encouragement, they fall eventually. I am not the youngest guy out there. It does take a while after warm-ups and sitting. I just work with my trainer and try to work on what we have."
Junior Guard Jordan Davis
On sharing the ball
"We have one goal and that is to win and it doesn't matter who is on, we are going to give that person the ball. There are times I am hot in the game and there'll be times Ant (Anthony Johnson) will be hot in the game…Jonah (Radebaugh), Jalen (Sanders) or Dre (Andre Spight) but at the end of the day, we want to win. That is the common goal. The biggest thing is sharing the ball and giving the ball to whoever is hot."

Head Coach Jeff Linder
Opening Statement
"The first half was not what…we missed a lot of open shots but it was just the feel of the gym. At halftime, not sugarcoating things, I really challenged the guys. I told them going back to the Johnson and Wales game, that is basically five halves in a row where I am not sure what team we are that is showing up at home. That's not the same team that plays on the road. That is not the same team with the same collective grit and same collective spirit. We have a bunch of guys who are just here right now. I told them I wouldn't be surprised there are no fans left in the building because if I was them, I would go home. That is not what we are about and that is not what I am telling everyone around here. You have to come watch these guys. There is a really good chance to be a really good team and they must think I am a fool. I know that's not the team that showed up at Pepperdine. The team that showed up at Pepperdine had some fight to them and some grit to them and that wasn't the case in the first half. They responded in the second half and that's how they need to respond. Our biggest opponent is ourselves and that is what is going to keep us from being a really good team."
On sharing the ball with the scorers on the floor
I think we are a team who has some really talented guys with the ball in their hands. You have to allow JD to bounce the ball a little bit and Dre too but at the same time they have to bounce it the right way. Against Colorado and UC Davis, we didn't bounce it the right way. It was too much one guy dribbling and four guys watching. Now we are dribbling and we are moving. That is where I think we made a step in the right direction."

Notable Stats

The Bears keep getting great minutes, and production, off their bench. The bench totaled 50 points. After Johnson's 18, Freshman Guard Johnatan Reyes put in eight and Freshman Forward Matej Drgon tallied seven. Those points were the first of the season for both players.
UNC forced 22 turnovers and scored 17 points off those Eagles' mistakes. Twelve of those TO's were steals by the Bears. Jonah Radebaugh pilfered the ball four times while Jalen Sanders took it away three times.
Northern Colorado turned 18 offensive boards into 19 second-chance points.

What's Ahead
The Bears make a quick turnaround and head to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the Sanford Pentagon Showcase. UNC plays three games in three days starting Friday, November 24. Their opponents: Youngstown State, Southern Mississippi and South Dakota.

UNC then travels to UC Davis November 29 for a rematch with the Aggies before returning to Bank of Colorado Arena for a three-game stretch. That home stand opens Sunday, December 3, when the Bears host Head Coach Jeff Linder's alma mater, Western State, at 5 pm following a UNC women's game versus Pacific. Single game tickets are just $3 each in advance at UNCBears.com.