Preview: @UNCO_MBB trot up to South Dakota

Friday, November 24

Sioux Falls, S.D.

7:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Youngstown State University

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JD starting to be JD again

11/23/2017 3:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball

The Bears set to play three games in three days.

By: Kurt Maddox, UNCBears.com

Greeley, Colo.—The Northern Colorado Men's team will visit the heart of the Great Plains for Thanksgiving weekend. Instead of turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie, this will be a business trip for the Bears. UNC is one of four teams who is playing in the second annual Sanford Pentagon Showcase. The Bears will play three games in three days starting with Youngstown State University Friday.

About the Showcase
The showcase is a round robin format. The showcase includes the Bears, the Youngstown State Penguins, the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles and the South Dakota Coyotes (Yotes). The three day schedule is as follows:

Friday
4:30 p.m. – South Dakota vs. Southern Miss
7 p.m. – Northern Colorado vs. Youngstown State

Saturday
4 p.m. – Youngstown State vs. Southern Miss
5:30 p.m. – South Dakota vs. Northern Colorado

Sunday
9:30 a.m. – Northern Colorado vs. Southern Miss
1 p.m. - South Dakota vs. Youngstown

*All Times are Mountain Standard Time

Opening Tip

The Bears started to gel as a team in the second half of their win against Northern New Mexico.
UNC shared the ball 16 times on their 32 made baskets. The mark was above their season average of eight assists per game.
Northern Colorado emptied their bench against the Eagles. The Bears reserves notched more points than their starters, 50-49.
Anthony Johnson recorded the most points off the bench, finishing with 18.
UNC continues to fire away from beyond the arc- 119 of the Bears 241 shots this year have been from 3.

Last Time Out
Northern Colorado triumphed for the second time in a row when they beat Northern New Mexico, 99-60. Johnson was the leading scorer with 18 followed by Jordan Davis (14) and Andre Spight (13). The Bears continued their aggressive play by getting to the foul line 30 times. The second half sparked the big win. Northern Colorado outscored Northern New Mexico 64-33 in the last 20 minutes.

Record Book Watch
Jordan Davis sits at 949 points for his career so he needs just 51 to break into the 1,000 point club. JD's climb in the record book does not stop with points. Davis is now perched at second all-time in assists for UNC Division I. Tevin Svihovec (2010-15) has 331 while JD has 239. The junior guard has swatted six shots this season and that secures the 7th spot all-time for blocks in UNC Division I history.

Scouting Youngstown State
The Penguins come into the weekend 2-2. Braun Hartfield leads Youngstown in scoring at 18.3ppg and they have three other players who average in double figures. The Penguins carry a potent offense, averaging almost 97 points per game to check in at number 6 nationally in scoring. Senior Cameron Morse was named to the 2017-18 preseason Lou Henson award watch list. The award is given out to the top Division I mid-major player.
Youngstown State was picked to finish seventh in the Horizon League. Jerrod Calhoun enters his first year as head coach of the Penguins. They finished 13-21 in the 2016-17 season while going 5-13 in the Horizon. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Bears and Penguins.

Scouting South Dakota
The Yotes are coming off a NIT bid a year ago and stand as Summit League regular season defending champs. South Dakota enter the showcase 4-1 and their only loss was to Big-12 opponent TCU, 76-71.
Matt Mooney and Tyler Hagedorn lead the way for the Coyotes, combining for 34.6 points per game. Mooney and Trey Burch-Manning were selected to the preseason all-Summit League team. The game will be the 51st time these two teams have played each other, with South Dakota holding a commanding 31-19 edge. Their last meeting was in the 2002-03 season. The Bears and Coyotes played twice that season as it was the last season in the Division II North Central Conference. The Coyotes won both games against the Bears that year.

Scouting Southern Mississippi
The Golden Eagles enter the Showcase at 2-1 and their only loss was to undefeated Michigan, 61-47. Tyree Griffin, who enters the event averaging 17.7 ppg, played well against the Wolverines, chalking up 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Southern Miss and Northern Colorado.

TV hoops
Sunday's game between South Dakota and Youngstown State will be carried live by Fox Sports North. You can watch each game on the Sanford Pentagon Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SanfordPentagon

Be social
Use the hashtag #PentagonShowcase throughout the weekend to be a part of the conversation. There will also be special Snapchat filters available at the Pentagon during the games.

Statistically speaking
Bears fans can follow live stats for each game at uncbears.com.

What's Ahead
UNC 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 homestand 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.