@UNCO_MBB Survive Hot Shooting Western to Win One at Home

Sunday, December 3

Greeley, Colo.

5pm

University of Northern Colorado

6-3

Western State Colorado University

3-5

Western State

Northern Colorado

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

12/3/2017 10:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Kurt Maddox, UNCBears.com

Greeley, Colo.—The Northern Colorado men's team started slow and allowed the Western State Mountaineers to jump out an early lead, but reeled them back in and flashed signs of the team that won three games in three days in the second half in South Dakota a week ago. After falling behind by as many as 14, the Bears outpaced the Mountaineers by 16 in the second to get back to their winning ways with an 87-75 victory over Western State Colorado.

How It Happened
The Mountaineers came out of the locker room hot. Western jumped out to an 18-6 lead by the 13:44 mark of the opening half. Led by senior Anthony Johnson off the bench, UNC charged back to pull within five. UNC closed the first half on an 8-2 spurt. Johnson and Chaz Glotta both nailed a 3 and Jonah Radebaugh contributed a layup. The Bears finished the half shooting 48% and only trailed 43-39.

The first half ended in controversy when Jordan Davis snared a defensive board and was hit with a technical. The refs checked the replay and upheld the call and so the second half started with free throws by Western. The Mountaineers lead was five and then the Bears came alive. Jalen Sanders drove the lane and tied it at 46. From there it was a full-on blitz; all five starters scored by the 18:34-minute mark of the second half and Northern Colorado went on a 20-6 scoring outburst to build a double-digit lead in just under the first five minutes.

Western never gave up, pulling within six on several occasions. However, The Bears shot a blistering 60% in the second half and played with a double-digit lead for much of the second frame.

Jordan Davis finished with a game high 27, including five points on perfect shooting from the free throw line, in the win. Anthony Johnson (18), Jonah Radebaugh (10) and Jalen Sanders (10) also finished in double figures.

Game Changer

Anthony Johnson is playing like one of the best sixth men in the country. He racked up 18 points in 25 minutes on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

Key Stat

The Bears took a commanding win in the turnover battle. UNC turned 14 turnovers into 24 points while only turning the ball over nine times in the game. UNC's starters accounted for only five total turnovers.

In Their Words

Head Coach Jeff Linder
Opening Statement

"First and foremost, I give my former college teammate and a good friend of mine coach Schafer a ton of credit. He's done a great job in the time he has been there and is building the program the right way. This is a team that is averaging 33 3-point field goal attempts a game. They are a dangerous team to play. They are coming off probably one of the best wins in program history in Westminster College who was 5-0 and a top 15 Division II team. That was a good team and that was a better team than some of the division I teams we have faced this year."

On Playing Division II Teams
For us, we have everything to lose. There are a lot of great Division II teams that even the best Division I teams aren't scheduling on their home court. They are staying away from those teams because, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. That is a good Division II team. I knew we were going to be in a little bit of a dogfight. They lost by seven to Weber State who was picked to win our league. At the end of the day, this was good for our team. This team doesn't need a front-running mentality. This team doesn't need to go beat a team right now by 60 and have a false sense of reality. We have to keep building as a team."

Redshirt Sophomore Guard Jonah Radebaugh
On gaining momentum back

"They were playing great out of the gate. They were making all of their shots and it is not like we were playing awful, they were just playing better. With some teams, you have to keep knocking on the wall until it falls down. Their wall fell down eventually."

Junior Guard Jordan Davis
On Western playing a game the day before

"We didn't expect them to be tired. At the end of the day, we knew they were going to come in here expecting to win. They were going to treat it like their Super Bowl and that is how they played in the first half. They could not miss anything and we didn't put enough pressure or make them uncomfortable.

Notable Stats
•    The Bears rallied from behind from down in the paint. UNC outscored WSCU 56-20 inside the box.
•    UNC knew when to turn the pace up and finish on fast breaks. Northern Colorado threw down 12 when the tempo increased while holding Western to zero buckets in quick-change moments.
•    Jonah Radebaugh has another solid all-around outing, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds, zero turnovers, one assist and one block.

What's Next

Following finals week, UNC has another doubleheader Sunday, December 10th when the women welcome in-state foe Colorado State at 2 pm and the men play host to Oklahoma Panhandle State at 5 pm. Single-game tickets for Sunday men's game are just $3 each in advance at UNCBears.com. The men then conclude their home stand against the University of Denver on December 13th with a 7 pm tip.