Recap: @UNCO_MBB Wins First Game of BSC Tourney Over Northern Arizona to Move to Quarterfinals

Tuesday, March 6

Reno, Nev.

3:35pm

University of Northern Colorado

21-11

Northern Arizona University

5-27

Northern Arizona

Northern Colorado

Photo by: Brooks Nuanez

3/6/2018 6:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Four Bears score in double figures as UNC takes care of business over NAU 82-59

By: Kurt Maddox, UNCBears.com

Reno, Nev.—Northern Colorado grabbed its first win in the Big Sky Conference tournament since it moved to Reno on Tuesday afternoon with an 82-59 win over Northern Arizona. UNC woke up in the second half after a sluggish first and pulled away to end the season of NAU.

(3/10/2018) Men's Basketball Big Sky Tournament

How It Happened
Andre Spight set the single-season record for points early with a layup to put the Bears up 6-2 but turnovers hindered Northern Colorado. UNC committed 11 turnovers in the first half and could not get its offense going because of all the mistakes. The Bears also went ice cold from the field for almost six minutes but Northern Arizona could not respond with any type of run.

Northern Colorado ended the half on a 9-2 run led by Jordan Davis who scored seven of the nine in every way possible as he hit a field goal, two free throws and a trey to extend the Bears lead to 11, 36-25 at the half. Davis was the leading scorer of the half with 10 points.

UNC came out in the second half and limited its turnovers and it showed on the scoreboard. The Bears kept extending their lead with the extra pass as they had 12 of their 16 assists in the second half. Anthony Johnson had the hot hand early in the second as two treys in the span of 30 seconds. Johnson finished with 17 on the game.

The season leading scorer for the Bears (Spight) used the attention he received to pass the ball to his open teammates and one pass led to a rim-rattling jam by JD. Davis also threw down a one-handed slam over an NAU defender to put the exclamation point on the win. He finished the as the game's leading scorer with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

What They Said
Head Coach Jeff Linder
Overall thoughts on the game
"I am proud of our guys from the standpoint we have been on the road for the past two weeks. They had a really professional approach to this tough stretch. We prepared for this with our trip to the Virgin Islands this summer to our tournament in South Dakota for the non-conference season to be ready to win in these neutral site environments. It takes a little to get your barrings and prepared in these environments and you saw we were off for the first 15-20 minutes."

The spark Anthony Johnson provided off the bench
"Anthony Johnson is someone who has been trying to figure me out all year and has really been in a good frame of mind these past few weeks had good bench minutes for us. I told him if we are going to win this thing we are going to need him. He did a good job today giving us a spark off the bench."

About facing Weber State for the third time
"We are excited to play them and I am sure they are excited to play us. Over the past two seasons, all four games have come down to the last 30 seconds. I feel like we gave away the game at their place this year, but to coach Rahe and his staff's credit, they have a good program. They find ways to win and that's a mark of a good program. Our guys are excited to face them again and it's just going to come down to who executes better than the other."

Junior guard Jordan Davis
How the team approaches the game when opponents double-team Andre Spight
"It goes back to making smart reads and getting in spots to help him out. When he is getting doubled we just look to get in the right spot and making plays for each other since he draws so much attention."

Sophomore guard Jonah Radebaugh
About the team's mindset heading into today's game
"When you lose to a team that people believe you should not lose to it's a wake-up call. It showed us if we do not show up and play the way we can anyone can beat you any night, so we had that mentality going into today after the Sacramento State game."

Game Changer
At 6'2", Jonah Radebaugh once again showed the ability to grab the most rebounds in the game. Radebaugh pulled down 11 boards and notched his fourth double-double of the season by scoring 12 points. Jonah hit three 3s and three free throws. The Thornton native also had two assists and three steals on the day.

Key Stat
Northern Colorado had 11 turnovers in the first half but responded in the second half by only giving the ball away four times in the second 20 minutes. Northern Arizona only scored seven points off those mistakes but UNC put in 27 points off 18 Lumberjack turnovers.

Notable Stats

UNC continues to be the best rebounding team in the Big Sky. The Bears outrebounded NAU 41-30 and the big difference was the offensive glass where Northern Colorado grabbed 14 while the Lumberjacks only grabbed five.
Another big gap in the game was bench scoring, Anthony Johnson scored 17 off the bench for UNC and helped lead the team to a 26-18 bench scoring advantage.
Northern Colorado shot 45.2 from both the field overall and behind the arc. The team his 14 3-points and 28 shots in total.
The Bears had a balanced day offensively with four players scoring in double figures. Jordan Davis led the way with 21, while Anthony Johnson (17), Andre Spight (12) and Jonah Radebaugh (12) joined him.

What's Ahead
UNC advances to take on No. 4 seed Weber State on Thursday afternoon. The Bears and Wildcats will meet for the third time this season as WSU swept the regular season series in a pair of close games. Tipoff between Northern Colorado and Weber State is set for 3:35 pm MT.
To stay up to date on all things UNC men's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @UNCO_MBB.