Recap: @UNCO_MBB Drops Final Game Before Heading to Reno

Saturday, March 3

Sacramento, Calif.

8:05 pm

University of Northern Colorado

20-11, 11-7BSC

Sacramento State

7-24, 4-14BSC

Northern Colorado

Sacramento State

3/4/2018 12:10:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Spight continues his 30-point performances with 31 in the defeat.

By: Kurt Maddox, UNCBears.com

Sacramento, Calif.—Northern Colorado can't keep up with Sacramento State on their senior night and falls to the Hornets 88-77. The defeat ends UNC's (20-11, 11-7) four-game winning streak on the season and three-game winning streak versus Sacramento State (7-24, 4-14).

How It Happened
Sacramento State was hyped up for their senior night and jumped out to an early 10-8 lead. The Bears did take over the lead with a 3 by Andre Spight but the Hornets piled on a 9-0 run to take the lead they kept building from there. UNC would chip away but Sac State always had an answer.

The closest the Bears would get it after that was one point after a pair of Anthony Johnson free throws. Starting at the 9:29 mark in the first half, UNC went cold and didn't hit another field goal until Jonatan Reyes' jumper at 3:26. The only points scored were six free throws in that six-minute time span. Spight led the Bears at the half with 16 points and the Bears trailed 48-39.

Northern Colorado started the second half quickly with a 3 by Jonah Radebaugh but the Hornets were relentless and scored 16 to the Bears' 7 in the first four minutes of the second half to build their lead to as high as 18.

The lead was 17 and UNC started to come back on the Hornets with 10:54 left in the game. It all started with a 10-0 run as Spight scored four quick points then Jordan Davis scored four and Dre added another bucket for the 10 points. The gap was seven and the closest the Bears got was five points with 5:56 to go. UNC went cold and Sacramento State kept the foot on the gas to pull off the upset. Andre Spight finished with a game-high 31 and Jordan Davis had 17.

Game Changer
Justin Strings went out on a high note for his senior night. The senior forward finished with 30 points, four rebounds and three assists in the win. He shot 12 of 23 from the field and six of seven from 3.

Key Stat
The Bears bench players were outscored by the Hornets reserves 21-9 and Calvin Martin scored more than all of the Bears backups combined as Martin scored 11.

What They Said
Head Coach Jeff Linder
Opening Statement
"You have to give credit to Sacramento State. On senior night, you expect them to come out and play hard. Even though their record is what it is, they have been in close games and found ways to win games. It wasn't necessarily that we didn't come out and compete or play hard. It was just they played a little bit harder and when you do that the ball ends up bouncing your way a little bit. We had some opportunities there to cut it to four and we had some open looks but there are some nights on the road where you won't make shots. We went five of 24 from 3 but that is where you have to hang your hat on the defense which was our strength when we have been on the road. We couldn't put together enough stops. It is one of those deals where we just have to move on now. The regular season is over and now we make our way to Reno.

On lack of paint touches
"When you miss a lot of shots like we did, you assist numbers aren't going to be there. We won't be a team that wins a lot in Reno as a team who only assists the ball five times. We made the extra pass quite a few times there in the second half to get open looks. You get open looks then you don't knock them down. It was just one of those nights where the ball doesn't want to go in. These guys have played their hearts out. We haven't had the easiest schedule but there are no excuses. We'll be ready to go come Tuesday in Reno.

Notable Stats

UNC only hit one of their 13 attempts from 3 in the second half. Northern Colorado only shot 21% from deep for the game (5-24).
Sacramento State won the assist battle as they had 14 assists on 31 made buckets and UNC only had five on 26 made shots.
Northern Colorado's bright spot in the game was in the paint. The Bears beat the Hornets down low 36-24.

What's Ahead
The Bears are heading to Reno to play in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament. UNC's first game will be Tuesday, March 6 at 3:35 pm Mountain Time against Northern Arizona in the five vs 12 matchup. If Northern Colorado wins, they will play the four seed Weber StateThursday the 8 at 3:35 pm Mountain Time. All BSC tourney games will be on watchbigsky.com or Pluto TV channel 231.