University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Wednesday, December 15
Tucson, Ariz.
7:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
6-6,2-0Big Sky
76
at
101
Arizona
10-0,1-0Pac-12
1
2
F
Northern Colo.
42
34
76
Arizona
52
49
101
Photo by: Robert Dunlap
Kountz Career Night Not Enough Against No. 8/6 Arizona
12/15/2021 9:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Daylen Kountz scored a career-high 33 points Wednesday night
TUCSON, Ariz. – Steve Smiley's Northern Colorado men's basketball team has sent a message all year long. They are a team that will not back down against any opponent. The Bears fell to No. 8/6 Arizona on Wednesday night 101-76, but the score isn't indicative of the battle UNC put up.
Senior Daylen Kountz set the tone early and often as he went off for a career-high 33 points. The Denver native scored 23 of his 33 in the first half including a personal 8-0 that tied the game at 13. He was super-efficient from the field going 12-of-19 making 4-of-5 threes and being a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
Another key catalyst on the night for the Bears was Matt Johnson II. He had 18 points and a team-high four assists. His three with 11 minutes in the game made it a four-point game, but Arizona ran away after that. The Wildcats ended up closing the game out on a 30-9 run.
What They Said
Stat of the Game
The size of Arizona showed up by the end of the game, as the Wildcats out rebounded the Bears 44-24 leading to a 22-5 second chance scoring advantage for U of A.
Game Notes
- Daylen Kountz set career-highs in points (33) and field goals made (12). He added in four rebounds, two assists and a steal while playing all 40 minutes
- Kountz's 33 points ranks tied for the ninth-most in a game in program history.
- The 33 points are tied for the second-most this season by a Big Sky player only trailing Mikey Dixon of Idaho and his 35 vs South Dakota State.
- Kountz leads the Big Sky in scoring and scoring average with 241 points in 12 games for an average of 20.08.
- While Kountz was going off, Matt Johnson II added in 18 points and four assist.
- Dru Kuxhausen found his stroke in the second half leading to 15 points all coming in the final 20-minutes. He connected on four threes in the half.
- UNC outscored Arizona 16-12 in points off turnovers.
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado continues its PAC 12 road trip by going to the Palouse to face Washington State Saturday at 2 pm MT.
UNC's next home game is set for December 21 against Northern New Mexico at 6 pm. Tickets are available at UNCBears.com/Tickets.
To stay up to date on all things UNC Men's Basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Senior Daylen Kountz set the tone early and often as he went off for a career-high 33 points. The Denver native scored 23 of his 33 in the first half including a personal 8-0 that tied the game at 13. He was super-efficient from the field going 12-of-19 making 4-of-5 threes and being a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
Northern Colorado went into the break trailing by 10 despite a strong offensive effort shooting 56.7%.1H | OH MY GOSH!!! Stop it @DaylenKountz2! #GetUpGreeley🐻🏀 pic.twitter.com/DTVFrZCHjc
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) December 16, 2021
Another key catalyst on the night for the Bears was Matt Johnson II. He had 18 points and a team-high four assists. His three with 11 minutes in the game made it a four-point game, but Arizona ran away after that. The Wildcats ended up closing the game out on a 30-9 run.
The Bears had clawed back to that point thanks in part to Dru Kuxhausen finding his shot in the second half. He went 4-of-7 from deep on his way to 15 points all coming in the second half.1H | @mattoraw23 with 11 on the night now! #GetUpGreeley🐻🏀 pic.twitter.com/FDJ0Dexhor
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) December 16, 2021
2H | Yep, he's on 🔥 now! @dkux3 with his fifth 👌 of the half!#GetUpGreeley🐻🏀 pic.twitter.com/Iv7GqOOysm
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) December 16, 2021
What They Said
Stat of the Game
The size of Arizona showed up by the end of the game, as the Wildcats out rebounded the Bears 44-24 leading to a 22-5 second chance scoring advantage for U of A.
Game Notes
- Daylen Kountz set career-highs in points (33) and field goals made (12). He added in four rebounds, two assists and a steal while playing all 40 minutes
- Kountz's 33 points ranks tied for the ninth-most in a game in program history.
- The 33 points are tied for the second-most this season by a Big Sky player only trailing Mikey Dixon of Idaho and his 35 vs South Dakota State.
- Kountz leads the Big Sky in scoring and scoring average with 241 points in 12 games for an average of 20.08.
- While Kountz was going off, Matt Johnson II added in 18 points and four assist.
- Dru Kuxhausen found his stroke in the second half leading to 15 points all coming in the final 20-minutes. He connected on four threes in the half.
- UNC outscored Arizona 16-12 in points off turnovers.
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado continues its PAC 12 road trip by going to the Palouse to face Washington State Saturday at 2 pm MT.
UNC's next home game is set for December 21 against Northern New Mexico at 6 pm. Tickets are available at UNCBears.com/Tickets.
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
UA
FG%
.475
.534
3FG%
.423
.364
FT%
.529
.789
RB
24
44
TO
13
11
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
33
FGM
12
3FGM
4
FTM
5
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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