University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, February 17
Greeley, Colo.
7pm
University of Northern Colorado
18-10, 8-9BSC
97
vs
80
Southern Utah University
10-15, 4-10BSC
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Southern Utah
33
47
80
Northern Colorado
38
59
97
Recap: @UNCO_MBB Sends the Seniors Out Victors Over Southern Utah
2/18/2018 12:10:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andre Spight throws up another 40-point performance
Greeley, Colo.—Northern Colorado survived a slow start on Senior Night to win its final game in Bank of Colorado Arena for the regular season. UNC (18-10, 9-6) scored over 90 points for the second straight game and seventh time this season to hand Southern Utah (10-15, 4-10) a 97-80 defeat.
(2/17/2018) Men's Basketball vs Southern Utah
Head coach Jeff Linder switched it up and the Bears had a different starting lineup for only the third time this season as coach started the four seniors (Andre Spight, Anthony Johnson, Tyler Loose and Tanner Morgan) and Jalen Sanders. It was a slow start for UNC when Southern Utah led for the first 12 minutes of the game.
Northern Colorado took its first lead on an Andre Spight layup with just under eight minutes to in the first half. Johnson was the spark in the first 20 minutes as Ant went 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep to score a game-high 17 points in the first stanza. UNC went to the half with a 38-33 lead.
The Bears extended their five-point halftime lead to double digits in the first two minutes of the second half off a Davis layup (46-35). UNC built upon that lead to as much as 17 but Southern Utah kept fighting back and closed the gap to 11 with 5:28 to go in the game. The Bears clamped down and finished off the Thunderbirds by hitting the open shots and their free throws.
Dre put up the second-ever 40 point game of his career and in UNC Division I history by scoring 40. Anthony Johnson finished off his career in The Bank with his second-best game of the season (25 pts). Jalen Sanders continued to be the leading rebounder for the Bears as he finished with eight to lead the team. The seniors combined for 70 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and seven steals.
Game Changer
Andre Spight loves the home cooking of The Bank as he scored over 30 five of the last six games at home. Spight went 12-of-25 on the night from the field and 13-for-15 from the free throw line to score 40 points. Dre also had six assists and four steals in the senior-night win.
Key Stat
Northern Colorado capitalized on the mistakes made by the Thunderbirds as SUU turned the ball over 19 times and UNC scored 16 points off those blunders. Southern Utah only scored four points off eight Bears' turnovers.
What They Said
Head Coach Jeff Linder
Opening Statement
"It was a great night for senior night. I am really proud of how the team responded. I am proud of the whole team on wanting those seniors to go out on top. Tyler Loose is most unheralded of the group. For the opportunity to start, that was the best thing we could have done for him. He is the guy behind the scenes that does everything at the highest level. He is the perfect example of the student-athlete and regardless of what you ask him to do. A player that is a 4.0 student off the court and about all the right things. When you start with a different lineup on senior night, it disrupts your rhythm. I thought it was off the first ten minutes of the game. Over the course of the game, our guys dug in and got a rhythm and in the second half, I think we did a really good job of understanding on how to attack them offensively. We knew we could get shots if we were patient. Dre came out there and was really a one-man wrecking crew. For Anthony Johnson really step up the last two games, he is going to help us at the right times and I think that's something we've talked to him at nauseam about not putting his head down. It was very easy for him to do that being a fifth-year senior with the success that he has had to start feeling sorry for himself. He is a guy that will really help us win some games down the stretch. Tanner Morgan, the other senior, sometimes what you see in the stat sheet doesn't show up in terms of the impact he makes on the game. There are a lot of little things that he does that doesn't show up on the stat sheet. We are going to really miss Tanner and Tyler next year because of what they bring in the locker room. It is not about scoring for them. It is about the team and that goes for all of these guys. Hopefully, the city of Greeley can see this is a team they can rally behind. They are a team that plays hard and plays the right way. I think we are playing right at the right time and we have to keep making our way forward."
On using the momentum from this game
"We have been preparing for this since the start of the season. We've done a good job of not over practicing and making sure the guys get the right amount of rest. Ultimately in this league, it is how you are playing now and into early March. We want to make sure the guys are fresh. We are on good terms right now as far as their health and mentally. I think we are playing pretty darn well."
Redshirt Senior Anthony Johnson
On getting the win on senior night
"It just felt good. It is bittersweet being the last game in Butler but it was good getting the win because it doesn't always happen like that."
On his performance
"I had a lot of family out here that haven't seen me play in a while. I don't think my mom has seen me play since the last game of my true junior season. We lost on a buzzer beater that night. It was just a lot of emotions with it being senior and starting for the first time in a while. I felt like I had to ring a little bit more than I have been bringing."
Redshirt Senior Andre Spight
On the slow start
"We've had senior night before not here but in high school and it is always a slow start on senior night. It is not necessarily the same lineups or game plan coming into it right off the bat but you have to get your feet under you. It is just sometimes harder playing on senior night. We battled much better in the second half than we did in the first half."
On scoring over 30 again
"There was a lot of friends and family out here. It is good to put on a good show for them. I really appreciate the fans in Butler and everybody. It is just a great feeling playing in front of your home crowd. You want to give them a good show and a reason to come back."
Notable Stats
The Bears will be on the road for the rest of the regular season as they only have one game next week at North Dakota. The game is set to start at 2 pm in Grand Forks and will be broadcast on Pluto TV. Northern Colorado's final two games of the regular season are out on the west coast. First up is Portland State Thursday, March 1st at 9 pm and UNC's final game takes place in Sacramento when the Bears play the Hornets of Sacramento State Saturday, March 3rd starting at 8:05 pm Mountain Time.
After that, the Northern Colorado men will head to Reno for the Big Sky Conference Tournament March 6th through the 10th.
Head coach Jeff Linder switched it up and the Bears had a different starting lineup for only the third time this season as coach started the four seniors (Andre Spight, Anthony Johnson, Tyler Loose and Tanner Morgan) and Jalen Sanders. It was a slow start for UNC when Southern Utah led for the first 12 minutes of the game.
Northern Colorado took its first lead on an Andre Spight layup with just under eight minutes to in the first half. Johnson was the spark in the first 20 minutes as Ant went 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep to score a game-high 17 points in the first stanza. UNC went to the half with a 38-33 lead.
The Bears extended their five-point halftime lead to double digits in the first two minutes of the second half off a Davis layup (46-35). UNC built upon that lead to as much as 17 but Southern Utah kept fighting back and closed the gap to 11 with 5:28 to go in the game. The Bears clamped down and finished off the Thunderbirds by hitting the open shots and their free throws.
Dre put up the second-ever 40 point game of his career and in UNC Division I history by scoring 40. Anthony Johnson finished off his career in The Bank with his second-best game of the season (25 pts). Jalen Sanders continued to be the leading rebounder for the Bears as he finished with eight to lead the team. The seniors combined for 70 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and seven steals.
Game Changer
Andre Spight loves the home cooking of The Bank as he scored over 30 five of the last six games at home. Spight went 12-of-25 on the night from the field and 13-for-15 from the free throw line to score 40 points. Dre also had six assists and four steals in the senior-night win.
Key Stat
Northern Colorado capitalized on the mistakes made by the Thunderbirds as SUU turned the ball over 19 times and UNC scored 16 points off those blunders. Southern Utah only scored four points off eight Bears' turnovers.
What They Said
Head Coach Jeff Linder
Opening Statement
"It was a great night for senior night. I am really proud of how the team responded. I am proud of the whole team on wanting those seniors to go out on top. Tyler Loose is most unheralded of the group. For the opportunity to start, that was the best thing we could have done for him. He is the guy behind the scenes that does everything at the highest level. He is the perfect example of the student-athlete and regardless of what you ask him to do. A player that is a 4.0 student off the court and about all the right things. When you start with a different lineup on senior night, it disrupts your rhythm. I thought it was off the first ten minutes of the game. Over the course of the game, our guys dug in and got a rhythm and in the second half, I think we did a really good job of understanding on how to attack them offensively. We knew we could get shots if we were patient. Dre came out there and was really a one-man wrecking crew. For Anthony Johnson really step up the last two games, he is going to help us at the right times and I think that's something we've talked to him at nauseam about not putting his head down. It was very easy for him to do that being a fifth-year senior with the success that he has had to start feeling sorry for himself. He is a guy that will really help us win some games down the stretch. Tanner Morgan, the other senior, sometimes what you see in the stat sheet doesn't show up in terms of the impact he makes on the game. There are a lot of little things that he does that doesn't show up on the stat sheet. We are going to really miss Tanner and Tyler next year because of what they bring in the locker room. It is not about scoring for them. It is about the team and that goes for all of these guys. Hopefully, the city of Greeley can see this is a team they can rally behind. They are a team that plays hard and plays the right way. I think we are playing right at the right time and we have to keep making our way forward."
On using the momentum from this game
"We have been preparing for this since the start of the season. We've done a good job of not over practicing and making sure the guys get the right amount of rest. Ultimately in this league, it is how you are playing now and into early March. We want to make sure the guys are fresh. We are on good terms right now as far as their health and mentally. I think we are playing pretty darn well."
Redshirt Senior Anthony Johnson
On getting the win on senior night
"It just felt good. It is bittersweet being the last game in Butler but it was good getting the win because it doesn't always happen like that."
On his performance
"I had a lot of family out here that haven't seen me play in a while. I don't think my mom has seen me play since the last game of my true junior season. We lost on a buzzer beater that night. It was just a lot of emotions with it being senior and starting for the first time in a while. I felt like I had to ring a little bit more than I have been bringing."
Redshirt Senior Andre Spight
On the slow start
"We've had senior night before not here but in high school and it is always a slow start on senior night. It is not necessarily the same lineups or game plan coming into it right off the bat but you have to get your feet under you. It is just sometimes harder playing on senior night. We battled much better in the second half than we did in the first half."
On scoring over 30 again
"There was a lot of friends and family out here. It is good to put on a good show for them. I really appreciate the fans in Butler and everybody. It is just a great feeling playing in front of your home crowd. You want to give them a good show and a reason to come back."
Notable Stats
- The Bears shot over 50.0 percent for the second-straight game as they hit 33 of their 63 attempts for a percentage of 52.4%.
- UNC hit 80.0 percent of its free throws which is 11% better than their season average of 69.2 percent.
- The Bears had their second-best performance in the thievery department as they stole the ball away from the Thunderbirds 10 times. The only game that was better was the Northern New Mexico game early in the season when the Bears stole the ball 12 times.
The Bears will be on the road for the rest of the regular season as they only have one game next week at North Dakota. The game is set to start at 2 pm in Grand Forks and will be broadcast on Pluto TV. Northern Colorado's final two games of the regular season are out on the west coast. First up is Portland State Thursday, March 1st at 9 pm and UNC's final game takes place in Sacramento when the Bears play the Hornets of Sacramento State Saturday, March 3rd starting at 8:05 pm Mountain Time.
After that, the Northern Colorado men will head to Reno for the Big Sky Conference Tournament March 6th through the 10th.
Team Stats
SUU
NC
FG%
.483
.524
3FG%
.318
.440
FT%
.789
.800
RB
33
33
TO
19
8
STL
3
10
Game Leaders
Pts
40
FGM
12
3FGM
3
FTM
13
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
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