Recap: @UNCO_MBB Fights Hard but Drops Close One in OT at Weber State

Saturday, February 10

Ogden, Utah

7 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Weber State University

2/10/2018 10:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Kurt Maddox, UNCBears.com

Ogden, Utah—Northern Colorado led most of the way but a late surge sent the game to overtime and UNC couldn't find its shooting touch as they fall to Weber State 71-66. UNC (16-10, 7-6) remains winless at Weber State (17-7, 10-2).

How It Happened
This game started unlike the Idaho State ended and flowed back and forth with UNC taking the early lead and not giving it up the whole half. Each team was struggling to find a bucket as with 10 minutes to go, the teams were a combined 9-28.

Northern Colorado did shore up its defense and held Weber State scoreless for just over four minutes. This is when UNC extended its lead to 14 with a 13-2 scoring streak. The Bears went into the half up 29-19. The 19 points allowed by UNC is the lowest the team has given up all season in the first half.

Weber State was not going to stay cold in its home arena for long and their hands started hot in the second by going on a 13-4 run in the first four minutes. The Wildcats took their first lead with 11:08 to go after a Jerrick Harding dunk. The game went back and forth until the end of the half. The Bears were up two with under 10 seconds left when Jordan Davis commits a foul on Harding and the Big Sky Leading scorer hit both free throws to send the game to overtime.

Both teams scored quickly in the extra period but then UNC went cold and didn't score a point for over three minutes and the Wildcats scored four to take the lead for good. Zach Braxton and Harding hit the two field goals and then Dusty Baker sealed the game for WSU with two free throws. Davis finished with 17 to lead the Bears in scoring and Tanner Morgan pulled down 12 rebounds.

Game Changer
Coming into the game, Jerrick Harding was the focus and because of that Zach Braxton took advantage. Braxton scored a career-high 25 points on the Bears on 11-18 shooting and he tied his career-best of 13 rebounds.

Key Stat
Weber State started the game averaging 3.7 blocks per game but recorded nine rejections in the game. The two main culprits were Braxton with three and Brekkott Chapman had five. Michal Kozak had the remaining one.

What They Said
Head Coach Jeff Linder
Opening Statement
"It was tough walking into a locker room with a group of guys who gave it their all. It never comes down to one play. It was unfortunate that we had that foul 70-feet from the basket. Those things happen and that wasn't the reason we lost the game. I told the team 'You can't let a team like that come out in the second half and shoot 53%'. We made timely stops when it mattered and put ourselves in position to win the game. Sometimes, the ball doesn't bounce your way. If the ball goes in for JD on the free throw, we are in a position to foul but I wasn't sure if he touched him or not but you can't put yourself in that position. We will learn from that moment and we know we are right there. It is a tough pill to swallow but those guys in the locker room believe that we are right there. We are going to keep getting better."

On rebounding effort
"It was the team's toughness and effort. I've got a tough group of guys. They aren't perfect. I am not perfect. You are never going to play the perfect game. I do know this…they come out and they play hard. When you get 19 offensive rebounds against a team like that, that is what gave us an opportunity. I just feel bad for those guys in there because they deserved to win. Give Weber State credit because they found a way to win the game and ultimately that is what you are measured on are wins and losses. We are not going to allow this to be a defining moment in our season. We are going to use this as a learning opportunity. We built some momentum this weekend and we are going to carry this over and play really well on Thursday and Saturday."

Notable Stats

The Bears were the smaller team but UNC outrebounded Weber State 53-36 and 19-4 on the offensive glass.
Because of those offensive boards, Northern Colorado scored 16 second-chance points to WSU's six.
UNC went down low and scored more in the paint for the second-straight game than their opponent. The Bears put in 42 points from in close to Weber State's 30.

What's Ahead
Northern Colorado will be home for its last two regular-season games at Bank for Colorado Arena when they host Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. Northern Arizona comes to town February 15 at 7 pm brought to you by Ehrlich Toyota and Chick-Fil-A. Senior night will be the 17th against Southern Utah as UNC will recognize Andre Spight, Tanner Morgan, Anthony Johnson and Tyler Loose for all they have done for the Northern Colorado men's basketball team.