Bears Just Miss Out Against Eagles

Monday, January 27

Cheney, Washington

7 pm

University of Northern Colorado

12-7,5-3Big Sky

Eastern Washington

13-6,6-2Big Sky

OT 1

Northern Colo.

Eastern Wash.

Photo by: EWU Athletics

1/27/2020 10:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Game Book

UNC falls in overtime after a game-winner buzzer beater is waved off

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

CHENEY, Wash. – From exhilarated to exasperated. Northern Colorado men's basketball thought they had won on a Trent Harris buzzer-beater in regulation but instead fell to Eastern Washington in overtime 89-84.

Harris gathered a loose ball in the final second to make the shot before the clock expired, the issue was it was the wrong clock. He beat the game clock, but not the shot clock to force overtime.

Monday night's action featured the two teams tied for second place in the Big Sky and did not disappoint as UNC's Jonah Radebaugh and EWU's Mason Peatling each just missed out on a triple-double. Radebaugh ended up one assist shy with 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists playing all 45 minutes of the game. Peatling posted a line of 21 points, 22 rebounds and seven assists.

It was a back and forth affair on Reese Court. The contest featured seven ties and nine lead changes.

Sharing the ball was important for the Bears offense in the first half as they had an assist on their first six baskets of the night and finished the half with 11.

Kur Jockuch made his presence in the paint known early on as he tied his career-high in scoring at 10 by the halfway point of the first. He ended the game with 16 points and six rebounds.

The Bears went up by double figures when they went on an 11-2 run during the first 20-minutes of play. The run included a four-point play by Harris.

EWU worked their way back into it with a 9-0 run in the final minutes of the half cutting UNC's lead to 43-40 at the break.

The Eagles extended their lead to as much as seven during the early part of the second half as Northern Colorado went on a three-minute scoring drought.

Despite the struggles at times on offense UNC chipped their way back into the game and used a quick 6-0 run in 48 seconds to regain the lead at 68-65 when Harris drained a corner three with 5:37 left.

Eastern Washington reclaimed the lead on a pair of free throws as the clock showed 2:19 on it and held the lead until Bodie Hume tied the game with a dunk inside the final minute.

In overtime, another Harris three gave the Bears the lead again, but they went scoreless for the next three minutes and Eastern Washington pulled away with a 9-0 run.

What They Said
Head Coach Jeff Linder
Overall thoughts
"It was almost surreal seeing Trent fly in there and it just happens so fast. Jonah got to his spot and may have been hit in many different ways but we had a chance to win it. I told the guys in the locker room we can't hold our heads low it was a really good college basketball game between two good teams. We can not feel sorry for ourselves we have to turn around and play at home on Thursday and defend our home court. We will see these guys again. In those first thirty-nine minutes, we have to find a way to win on both ends of the floor. If we do not make a few mistakes or have a few empty positions we are not relying on a shot at the end of the game to win it. I was proud of the effort and giving us a chance to win on the road."

About the second half offense
"We had some open looks in the second half, unfortunately, we are going to miss some of those shots. That's who we are when you shoot threes as we do. When you are not shooting as well some nights you must be able to get some stops as we did at the end of the game. Guys made some big winning plays at the end of the game. Bodie and Kai grabbed some big offensive rebounds down the stretch."

On matching up against Eastern Washington's offense
"Kur and Kai together equaled the stats of Peatling. I'm proud of the way our guys played against him all night long. Coach DeWeese did a good job having us ready on the scout, they are just a hard team to guard with Peatling, Jacob Davidson and Kim Aiken. They are three all-league guys."

Stat of the Game
Northern Colorado just couldn't find their stroke in the second half and overtime shooting 31.7 percent over the 25 minutes of play after going 50.0 percent from the field in the first half.

Game Notes
- Five Bears finished the game in double figures scoring in Radebaugh (17), Jockuch (16), Harris (15), Kai Edwards (10) and Tre'Shon Smoots (10).
- Edwards made a career-best eight free throws on his way to his 10 points.
- Smoots' 10 points matched his career-high.
- UNC tied its season-high in blocks with five.

Around the Big Sky
There were two other games in the Big Sky on Monday as NAU defeated Sacramento State 69-54 at home and Southern Utah defeated Idaho 73-45. UNC and SUU are now tied for third place in the Big Sky at 5-3.

What's Ahead
UNC continues its four games in eight days stretch returning home on Thursday night to host Idaho State on Thursday night at 7 pm.

Tickets for the game and all UNC men's basketball games can be purchased at UNCBears.com/Tickets, by calling 970-351-4849 or visiting the UNC Ticket Office located in the Campus Commons, (M-F, 10 am - 5 pm). All ticket purchases may include fees.

To stay up to date on all things UNC men's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.