University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Thursday, January 9
Ogden, Utah
7 pm
University of Northern Colorado
10-5,3-1Big Sky
65
at
64
Weber State
5-10,1-3Big Sky
1
2
F
Northern Colo.
34
31
65
Weber St.
33
31
64
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
Winless In Ogden No More
1/9/2020 10:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UNC men's basketball earned its first ever win at Weber State 65-64
OGDEN, Utah – The monkey is off UNC men's basketball's back. Northern Colorado is leaving Ogden with a win squeaking past Weber State 65-64. It is the first time in 14 tries that UNC will leave the Dee Event Center with a win.
The Bears improve to 10-5 overall and 3-1 in Big Sky play.
Kai Edwards' layup with 3.5 seconds remaining gave the Bears the lead and Matt Johnson stripped Weber State's Jerrick Harding as we gathered to try a last second half court attempt.
Northern Colorado overcame a poor shooting night going 25-of-69 from the field. UNC cleaned up their own misses though grabbing 14 offensive boards leading to 14 second chance points.
It didn't look like it was going to be a poor shooting night for the Bears early on. They started the game making their first four shots including a pair of threes to go up 10-2. Jonah Radebaugh had seven of the team's first 10 points.
WSU chipped away at the UNC lead with an 8-2 run and then 5-0 at the end of the half to tie it. Kur Jockuch made a free throw just before the break to give the team a 34-33 lead.
Turnovers allowed the Wildcats to get back in the game as UNC had eight in the first half. That changed in the second half as Northern Colorado only committed two.
Weber State took its first lead a minute into the second half and extended it to as much as five. The Bears battled back with a 14-4 run going from five down to up five before a cold spell allowed WSU to reclaim the lead.
What They Said
Head Coach Jeff Linder
Overall thoughts on the game
"I can't say enough about the guys in our locker room to play the way we did tonight and find a way to win. We didn't play at our best and give Weber State credit they are a reason for that. We struggled offensively and defensively had a few breakdowns here and there. But to sit there and fight through all of that and come away with a win shows how resilient this team is."
About Kai Edwards play
"I told Kai after the game I'm not sure where you were the first 30 minutes of the game, but man I am sure happy you showed up for the last ten. Both him and Kur did a good job of getting us extra possessions."
On the team's offensive rebounding
"We talk about it all the time you have a choice when you are going up and down the court in an open game are you going to give in to fatigue or not. Our guys didn't do that, they fought and scratched throughout the full game. We only shot 36 percent, but we got 10 extra possessions off of offensive rebounds. Usually, the team that has the most possessions ends up winning the game."
About what changed to take care of the ball
"We did a better job of taking care of the ball in the second half and that's really on me for the turnovers on the first half."
About the final offensive possession
"With the foul count Weber State could have kept fouling us. The beauty of this team is we have so many options. We know so much attention was going to be on Jonah on the last play, but we have seen Kai turn and take the handoff in practice and score as he did on the final play."
About Matt Johnson's defense
"Matt played really well tonight against a tough guy to guard like Jerrick Harding. He still scored his points, but Matt made it hard on him work for it all night long and came away with the big strip at the end not allowing Harding to get off a final shot."
Stat of the Game
Lucky number 14, it took 14 tries, but Northern Colorado is no longer winless in Ogden.
Game Notes
- Jonah Radebaugh moved up a few different all-time lists on Thursday night in made threes, steals and points scored. With his three made 3-pointers he is now in sixth place with 174 for his career. He's now eighth in steals with 124 and 19th in points scored with 1,068.
- Kur Jockuch grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds in the game. Five of the 11 came on the offensive end.
- Bodie Hume had a strong game scoring 15 points including making three 3-pointers, with six rebounds and two blocks.
- Northern Colorado outrebounded Weber State 43-32.
Montana continues to hold a half-game lead in the conference standings picking up a 90-63 win at Eastern Washington while UNC and Southern Utah sit the half-game behind. Of the five games on Thursday, four of the road teams won. Only Sacramento State defended their home court 64-57 over Northern Arizona.
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado is off this weekend before hosting a pair of games next week against Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. The game against Sac State is on January 16 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.
The Bears improve to 10-5 overall and 3-1 in Big Sky play.
Kai Edwards' layup with 3.5 seconds remaining gave the Bears the lead and Matt Johnson stripped Weber State's Jerrick Harding as we gathered to try a last second half court attempt.
Edwards finished the game with 14 points including scoring the final six of the game for UNC alongside eight rebounds.Kai gives the Bears the LEAD!!! #GoUNCBears🐻🏀 #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/K17vPkhErT
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) January 10, 2020
Northern Colorado overcame a poor shooting night going 25-of-69 from the field. UNC cleaned up their own misses though grabbing 14 offensive boards leading to 14 second chance points.
It didn't look like it was going to be a poor shooting night for the Bears early on. They started the game making their first four shots including a pair of threes to go up 10-2. Jonah Radebaugh had seven of the team's first 10 points.
He finished the game as the team's leading scoring with 19 points and once again stuffed the stat sheet grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out seven assists.🔥🔥🔥 The Bears are 4-for-4 to start the night #GoUNCBears🐻🏀 #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/QGlrQTZ3Yl
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) January 10, 2020
WSU chipped away at the UNC lead with an 8-2 run and then 5-0 at the end of the half to tie it. Kur Jockuch made a free throw just before the break to give the team a 34-33 lead.
Turnovers allowed the Wildcats to get back in the game as UNC had eight in the first half. That changed in the second half as Northern Colorado only committed two.
Weber State took its first lead a minute into the second half and extended it to as much as five. The Bears battled back with a 14-4 run going from five down to up five before a cold spell allowed WSU to reclaim the lead.
Down by four with three minutes left Trent Harris connected on a much-needed basket for the Bears to make it a one-point game. The Bears and Wildcats went empty-handed for the next minute and a half before WSU made a layup to go up by three with 1:30 remaining..@bodiehume with the 👌to put the Bears back in front! #GoUNCBears🐻🏀 #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/tAXd24bMBU
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) January 10, 2020
Edwards scored his first of three big baskets with 1:01 on the clock to pull the team within one again and gave UNC the lead with a jumper 26 seconds left.Trent Harris brings the Bears within 1 with that 👌 #GoUNCBears🐻🏀 #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/z8mIKdiJ9L
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) January 10, 2020
Weber State's Jerrick Harding made a tough 10-foot jumper from the right side to make it a one-point edge in favor of WSU with 10.0 seconds remaining. After the Wildcats exhausted a few fouls to waste time off the clock Radebaugh found Edwards in the two-man game to win it for the Bears.In the lead! Kai with the clutch basket! Now it's time for some DEFENSE! #GoUNCBears🐻🏀 #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/6QjQJesu8n
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) January 10, 2020
What They Said
Head Coach Jeff Linder
Overall thoughts on the game
"I can't say enough about the guys in our locker room to play the way we did tonight and find a way to win. We didn't play at our best and give Weber State credit they are a reason for that. We struggled offensively and defensively had a few breakdowns here and there. But to sit there and fight through all of that and come away with a win shows how resilient this team is."
About Kai Edwards play
"I told Kai after the game I'm not sure where you were the first 30 minutes of the game, but man I am sure happy you showed up for the last ten. Both him and Kur did a good job of getting us extra possessions."
On the team's offensive rebounding
"We talk about it all the time you have a choice when you are going up and down the court in an open game are you going to give in to fatigue or not. Our guys didn't do that, they fought and scratched throughout the full game. We only shot 36 percent, but we got 10 extra possessions off of offensive rebounds. Usually, the team that has the most possessions ends up winning the game."
About what changed to take care of the ball
"We did a better job of taking care of the ball in the second half and that's really on me for the turnovers on the first half."
About the final offensive possession
"With the foul count Weber State could have kept fouling us. The beauty of this team is we have so many options. We know so much attention was going to be on Jonah on the last play, but we have seen Kai turn and take the handoff in practice and score as he did on the final play."
About Matt Johnson's defense
"Matt played really well tonight against a tough guy to guard like Jerrick Harding. He still scored his points, but Matt made it hard on him work for it all night long and came away with the big strip at the end not allowing Harding to get off a final shot."
Stat of the Game
Lucky number 14, it took 14 tries, but Northern Colorado is no longer winless in Ogden.
Game Notes
- Jonah Radebaugh moved up a few different all-time lists on Thursday night in made threes, steals and points scored. With his three made 3-pointers he is now in sixth place with 174 for his career. He's now eighth in steals with 124 and 19th in points scored with 1,068.
- Kur Jockuch grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds in the game. Five of the 11 came on the offensive end.
- Bodie Hume had a strong game scoring 15 points including making three 3-pointers, with six rebounds and two blocks.
- Northern Colorado outrebounded Weber State 43-32.
Around the Big Sky🚫easy baskets around @bodiehume #GoUNCBears🐻🏀 #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/7LnHF2GeUS
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) January 10, 2020
Montana continues to hold a half-game lead in the conference standings picking up a 90-63 win at Eastern Washington while UNC and Southern Utah sit the half-game behind. Of the five games on Thursday, four of the road teams won. Only Sacramento State defended their home court 64-57 over Northern Arizona.
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado is off this weekend before hosting a pair of games next week against Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. The game against Sac State is on January 16 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.
Team Stats
UNC
Weber
FG%
.362
.436
3FG%
.320
.320
FT%
.778
.615
RB
43
32
TO
10
10
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ 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
