University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Monday, November 18
Morgantown, W.V.
5 PM
University of Northern Colorado
2-3,0-0Big Sky
61
at
69
West Virginia
3-0,0-0Big 12
1
2
F
Northern Colo.
30
31
61
West Virginia
40
29
69
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
Men's Hoops Goes Toe to Toe with West Virginia
11/18/2019 8:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UNC men's basketball gives West Virginia all it can handle on Monday night
MORGANTOWN, WV – Northern Colorado basketball never gave in and fought back from 17 down to tie West Virginia with 6:18 remaining before falling to the Mountaineers 69-61.
UNC went on a 16-2 run to tie WVU in the second half as they clamped down on defense and started to hit some shots on offense. Redshirt freshman Tre'Shon Smoots led the charge scoring all six of his points during it and adding in an on of his six assists.
While the Bears battled back to tie if on a pair of Kai Edwards free throw's West Virginia responded with a 10-0 run to pull away.
Edwards just missed out on his second double-double of the season with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Northern Colorado had a pair of four and a half minute droughts in the first half allowing WVU to go on 13-0 and 10-0 runs. The latter put WVU up by 17 with 7:44 left in the half.
UNC battled back to within 10 a few times including at the break when Bodie Hume hit a three before the buzzer to go into the locker room down 40-30.
The two teams battled back and forth in the second half with the Mountaineers keeping their lead between 8-14 points until Northern Colorado's 16-2 run.
What They Said
Head Coach Jeff Linder
"It's tough to walk into the locker room after tonight and see a group of guys that expected to win that game. Give West Virginia credit for responding and making that run. Our guys believed they were the better team and at the end of the day we missed some shots when we had open looks. We did a good job of executing the game plan by wanting to shut down the middle and not let their post guys hurt us. This is a team that went into Pitt last week and blasted them and we went toe to toe with West Virginia tonight. This isn't a program about moral victories, but I do think with the guys we have in the locker room and the guys that came before them the past three years have put it to a point where they are ready to take that next step. They came into a venue like this tonight and Northern Iowa on Saturday and went toe to toe with programs that have high expectations for themselves. We are right there with them. We just have to believe that we are at that point as a program now."
Stat of the Game
The difference in the game was a pair of scoring droughts for UNC. That led to an advantage in field goal percentage for the Mountaineers at 48.1 to 37.7.
Game Notes
- JUCO transfer Rodrick McCobb earned his first career start as a Bear.
- Bodie Hume led the Bears with 18 points. Twelve of his 18 in the second half.
- Edwards had a career-high four steals.
What's Ahead
UNC is off to Cancun, Mexico for Thanksgiving. The Bears will compete in the Cancun Challenge starting on November 26 when they take on Boston at 1 pm.
UNC's next home game does not come until December 4 against Northern New Mexico at 7 pm.
To stay up to date on all things UNC men's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @UNC_BearsMBB.
UNC went on a 16-2 run to tie WVU in the second half as they clamped down on defense and started to hit some shots on offense. Redshirt freshman Tre'Shon Smoots led the charge scoring all six of his points during it and adding in an on of his six assists.
While the Bears battled back to tie if on a pair of Kai Edwards free throw's West Virginia responded with a 10-0 run to pull away.
Edwards just missed out on his second double-double of the season with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Northern Colorado had a pair of four and a half minute droughts in the first half allowing WVU to go on 13-0 and 10-0 runs. The latter put WVU up by 17 with 7:44 left in the half.
UNC battled back to within 10 a few times including at the break when Bodie Hume hit a three before the buzzer to go into the locker room down 40-30.
The two teams battled back and forth in the second half with the Mountaineers keeping their lead between 8-14 points until Northern Colorado's 16-2 run.
What They Said
Head Coach Jeff Linder
"It's tough to walk into the locker room after tonight and see a group of guys that expected to win that game. Give West Virginia credit for responding and making that run. Our guys believed they were the better team and at the end of the day we missed some shots when we had open looks. We did a good job of executing the game plan by wanting to shut down the middle and not let their post guys hurt us. This is a team that went into Pitt last week and blasted them and we went toe to toe with West Virginia tonight. This isn't a program about moral victories, but I do think with the guys we have in the locker room and the guys that came before them the past three years have put it to a point where they are ready to take that next step. They came into a venue like this tonight and Northern Iowa on Saturday and went toe to toe with programs that have high expectations for themselves. We are right there with them. We just have to believe that we are at that point as a program now."
Stat of the Game
The difference in the game was a pair of scoring droughts for UNC. That led to an advantage in field goal percentage for the Mountaineers at 48.1 to 37.7.
Game Notes
- JUCO transfer Rodrick McCobb earned his first career start as a Bear.
- Bodie Hume led the Bears with 18 points. Twelve of his 18 in the second half.
- Edwards had a career-high four steals.
What's Ahead
UNC is off to Cancun, Mexico for Thanksgiving. The Bears will compete in the Cancun Challenge starting on November 26 when they take on Boston at 1 pm.
UNC's next home game does not come until December 4 against Northern New Mexico at 7 pm.
To stay up to date on all things UNC men's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @UNC_BearsMBB.
Team Stats
UNC
WVU
FG%
.377
.481
3FG%
.267
.444
FT%
.765
.684
RB
24
42
TO
12
15
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballHead Coach Smiley, Jaron Rillie, Zach Bloch, and Isaiah Hawthorne Post Game Press Conference v Idaho
Sunday, February 23
Head Coach Steve Smiley, Jaron Rillie, and Quinn Denker Post Game Press Conference vs E Washington
Friday, February 21
Head Coach Steve Smiley, Quinn Denker, and Jaron Rillie Post Game Press Conference vs Montana State
Sunday, February 09
Langston Reynolds and Quinn Denker Post Game Press Conference vs NAU
Saturday, February 08
