Comeback Bid Against Idaho Falls Short for @unco_mbb

Thursday, February 9

Greeley, CO

7:00 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

8-15, 4-8BSC

University of Idaho

13-10, 8-4BSC

Idaho

Northern Colorado

Photo by: Rob Trubia

2/9/2017 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Kobee Stalder, UNCBears.com

PDF Box Score

GREELEY, Colo. - Despite a late rally, Northern Colorado (8-15, 4-8 Big Sky) couldn't overcome a large first half deficit on Thursday night, falling to Idaho (13-10, 8-4 Big Sky) 88-76.

How It Happened:
Just six minutes into the game UNC saw itself trailing by double figures (19-9). That trend carried over for the majority of the night.

Sophomore guard, Chaz Glotta knocked down a three-ball and then connected on an elbow jumper on to-back possessions to get the Bears within five (25-20) of the Vandals with 8:38 to go until the intermission, but Idaho was able to answer Northern Colorado shot-for-shot and then some, quickly squandering any momentum UNC was able to muster.

Northern Colorado headed to the locker room down 43-29.

Just four Bears reported points in the first half, led by junior guard, DJ Miles' 11 points, followed closely by Glotta's 10.

UNC's hole got a little larger in the opening minutes after the break. UI put the ball in the basket in its first eight possessions to start the second half, outscoring the Bears 19-6 and taking a commanding 62-35 lead.

Northern Colorado trailed by as much as 28 points in the second half, but the scrappy team from Greeley didn't throw in the towel.

The Bears clawed their way back into the game, going on an 18-2 rally that consumed four minutes to make it just an eight-point game (80-72) with 1:37 to play.

During the run, Miles and sophomore guard, Jordan Davis combined for 14 of the 18 points.

Unfortunately, time was not on Northern Colorado's side as Idaho was able to outlast them at the free throw line to seal the win.

Miles led all scorers on the night with 30 points, his second 30-point game of the season. Davis ended the night with 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds, while Glotta was the third player to reach double figures for UNC, tallying 17 points.

Four players finished with double figures for the Vandals, led by Victor Sanders' 25.

Game Changer:
Northern Colorado had trouble containing Idaho's Victor Sanders in the second half. Sanders finished with 17 of his 25 points in the last 20 minutes of the game, denying UNC's comeback bid.

Key Stat:
The biggest difference in the game in the scorebook was the bench production. Idaho outscored UNC 26-6 in bench points.

In Their Words:
Head Coach, Jeff Linder

"Kudos to Idaho, who's been playing very well in their last six games, they're 5-1 now. They did a good job of coming out and setting the tone from the get-go, which we knew they would try to do. They're a team that will, for a lack of a better term, try to bully you. There are some teams in the league they can do that to, and there are some teams in the league they can't. With a young team like ours, we were kind of like a deer in the headlights for the first 15-to-20 minutes into the game."

"We dug ourselves into too deep of a hole, but our guys did a great job of fighting back and trying to give ourselves a chance, but against a team like that, who's well coached, you can't spot them as many points as we did. We'll learn from it and move on and get ready for a very talented team from Eastern Washington on Saturday."

Notables:
- Idaho was a stout 48% (13-of-27) from three-point range in the game, making nine of its 13 treys in the first half.
- Northern Colorado ended the game 28-of-62 (45%) from the field and 9-of-31 (29%) from beyond the arc.
- UNC held the rebound advantage by a slim margin of 37-35.
- The Bears held their turnovers to single digits, ending the game with just eight.
- Jonah Radebaugh and Jordan Davis both led the team in rebounds with six apiece.

Up Next:
Men's hoops will round out its weekly Big Sky schedule on Saturday, Feb. 11 against Eastern Washington (16-9, 8-4 Big Sky) who is coming off a road loss at North Dakota 95-86. Tip against the Eagles is set for 2:00 p.m.