@unco_mbb Downs Sacramento State on Senior Day

Saturday, March 4

Greeley, CO

2:00 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

11-18, 7-11BSC

Sacramento State

12-17, 9-9BSC

Sacramento State

Northern Colorado

3/4/2017 6:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Kobee Stalder, UNCBears.com

BOX SCORE

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado (11-18, 7-11 Big Sky) sent senior forward, Jont'e Dotson out on top with a 70-67 victory over Sacramento State (12-17, 9-9 Big Sky) on Saturday afternoon.

How It Happened:
Scoring was hard to come by in the first half for either team. Tied at 4-4, the Bears and the Hornets went on scoring droughts of over four minutes.

Redshirt sophomore forward, Ibrahim Sylla broke the slump for UNC with a bucket in the paint to give the team a two-point advantage with 13:32 to go until the break.

Northern Colorado saw its biggest lead of the half thanks to back-to-back three pointers from freshman forward, Roberto Vercellino, putting UNC on top 26-20 over Sacramento State with just a minute remaining.

The Hornets were able to put the ball in the hoop one final time before the half ended, making it 26-22 at halftime.

After a poor offensive half, UNC stepped it up in the final 20 minutes of the ball game, shooting a lethal 60% (17-of-28) from the field.

Despite the shooting efforts, Northern Colorado still trailed Sacramento State throughout the majority of the second half.

UNC tied the game up (45-45) at the 11:24 mark off a sophomore guard, Jordan Davis drive to the rim, and then took the lead off a big trey from redshirt sophomore guard, Chaz Glotta the very next possession, but it didn't hold.

The Hornets built their lead up to five (55-50) thanks to a jumper from Nick Hornsby, a pair of free throws from Justin Graves and an Eric Stuteville finish in transition with under eight to play.

Northern Colorado once again had to play catch up over the final minutes of the game, and for the final time this season, the Bears answered the call.

A pair of free throws from junior guard, DJ Miles and a made three on the run by the junior cut SSU's lead down to just one (67-66) with 1:12 left on the clock.

A missed jumper from Sac's Graves and a defensive rebound from UNC sent the Bears running. Miles was fouled on his way to the rim and cashed in on two more makes at the Charity stripe, tipping the scoreboard in favor of
Northern Colorado 68-67 with 30 seconds remaining.

Once again, Sacramento State couldn't capitalize on the offensive end and Miles hauled in the d-board and was sent right back to the line, where he sank two more, making it a three-point game (70-67) with 13 second to go.

The Hornets had one final shot at tying the game, but the three attempt from Trevis Jackson was just off the mark, giving UNC a win on senior day.

Game Changer:
Junior guard, DJ Miles led Northern Colorado with 20 points, including six straight free throw makes down the stretch which ultimately sealed the win for the Bears.

Key Stat:
2-of-2 may not seem like much, but Roberto Vercellino's two three-balls gave UNC a jolt of energy toward the end of the first half. Vercellino finished with a career-high 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the victory.

In Their Words:
Head Coach, Jeff Linder
"My challenge to the team was that there was only going to be four teams in the country that would end their season with a win – the NCAA tournament champion, the NIT champions, the CBI and CIT champs, so I told them we could be one of five teams to end their season on a win and they really bought in to that."

On Jon'te Dotson
"There are very few guys that can say they ended their careers as a winner. You play your final game and you win. Jon'te now gets to go out with a great taste in his mouth, without the bitter taste of defeat, and that goes a long ways. He's just an unbelievable kid first and foremost. Take away basketball, he's a guy that's going to be successful in life regardless because he has a blue collar approach. He's great in classroom, he's great off the court and he was great every single day in practice for us."

Junior guard, DJ Miles

On his free throw shooting
"I wasn't having the best game because my threes weren't going in early, so my confidence was a little down, but I just saw it as an opportunity. My team needed me to make them, so it was just good to step up and see them go in."

Notables:
- First year head coach, Jeff Linder ends his inaugural campaign with 11 wins, one more victory than the team saw in 2015-16.
- Besides Miles and Vercellino, Jonah Radebaugh and Jordan Davis also finished in double figures on the day. Davis produced 12 points, while Radebaugh recorded 11.
- UNC finally got some relief from its bench today as the non-starters provided 21 of the 70 points in the win.
- The Bears end with a 6-6 record inside Bank of Colorado Arena
- Northern Colorado scored 16 points off 17 Sacramento State turnovers.

Up Next:
That will be it for the 2016-17 season for men's hoops due to a self-imposed postseason ban, but UNC is excited for the future as everyone returns but Dotson, along with getting back guard, Anthony Johnson and forward, Tanner Morgan due to them redshirting this season. The Bears will also have Arizona State transfer, Andre Spight on the court next season as the team will eye its second Big Sky Conference title in school history.