University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, December 18
Pullman, Wash.
2:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
6-7,2-0Big Sky
56
at
82
Washington State
8-4,1-1Pac-12
1
2
F
Northern Colo.
26
30
56
Washington St.
41
41
82
Photo by: Dean Hare - Washington State Athletics
Shorthanded Bears fall to Cougars
12/18/2021 5:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UNC men's basketball fell to Washington State Saturday afternoon.
PULLMAN, Wash. – A shorthanded Northern Colorado men's basketball team fought, but it wasn't enough as they fell to Washington State Saturday afternoon 82-56.
The Bears entered the game down Dalton Knecht for the second straight contest and lost Big Sky leading scorer Daylen Kountz with 7:24 left in the first half while Bodie Hume battled foul trouble throughout.
UNC started the game hot with a pair of threes from Kountz and Matt Johnson II to lead 6-0, but WSU responded with a 12-0 run to double up the Bears. Northern Colorado trailed the rest of the half cutting the lead to four multiple times.
The Cougars closed the half with a 9-0 run late to take a 15-point lead into the break.
Head coach Steve Smiley's Bears never gave in and cut the lead to 10 early in the second half. UNC went on an 11-0 run on the backs of Kur Jongkuch and Dru Kuxhausen. Kuxhausen nailed a pair of threes during it.
Unfortunately for Northern Colorado, they went cold after that. Northern Colorado's scoring drought allowed Washington State to take control of a game with a 15-2 run.
What They Said
Head Coach Steve Smiley
"Today's loss was a disappointing end to the trip. Washington State is really good, but with that being said, we had every intention of competing in a great game, and after we started really well things fell apart in a variety of ways. Losing Daylen to injury early on was a tough hop, but that's part of the game. I was disappointed with our lack of ball security in the first half. Having 12 turnovers at the half was a major issue that ultimately led to the big deficit."
Stat of the Game
Washington State was hard to stop from behind the arc Saturday. They went 12-for-33 behind the arc.
Game Notes
- Jongkuch and Kuxhausen tied for the team lead for scoring with 11 points. Jongkuch went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field while Kuxhausen made three 3s.
- Bryce Kennedy led the Bears with eight rebounds, one shy of his career-high. He also had two points and an assist.
- Zach Bloch made his first two career threes going 2-of-5 behind the arc. He finished the game with those six points, a rebound and an assist.
- Matt Johnson II scored nine points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the line with two assists and three rebounds.
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado returns home for some holiday hoops to close out the non-conference season. UNC will host Northern New Mexico on Tuesday, December 21 at 6 pm.
Tickets start are just $2 using the link UNCBears.com/HolidayHoops.
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 entered the game down Dalton Knecht for the second straight contest and lost Big Sky leading scorer Daylen Kountz with 7:24 left in the first half while Bodie Hume battled foul trouble throughout.
UNC started the game hot with a pair of threes from Kountz and Matt Johnson II to lead 6-0, but WSU responded with a 12-0 run to double up the Bears. Northern Colorado trailed the rest of the half cutting the lead to four multiple times.
The Cougars closed the half with a 9-0 run late to take a 15-point lead into the break.
Head coach Steve Smiley's Bears never gave in and cut the lead to 10 early in the second half. UNC went on an 11-0 run on the backs of Kur Jongkuch and Dru Kuxhausen. Kuxhausen nailed a pair of threes during it.
Unfortunately for Northern Colorado, they went cold after that. Northern Colorado's scoring drought allowed Washington State to take control of a game with a 15-2 run.
What They Said
Head Coach Steve Smiley
"Today's loss was a disappointing end to the trip. Washington State is really good, but with that being said, we had every intention of competing in a great game, and after we started really well things fell apart in a variety of ways. Losing Daylen to injury early on was a tough hop, but that's part of the game. I was disappointed with our lack of ball security in the first half. Having 12 turnovers at the half was a major issue that ultimately led to the big deficit."
Stat of the Game
Washington State was hard to stop from behind the arc Saturday. They went 12-for-33 behind the arc.
Game Notes
- Jongkuch and Kuxhausen tied for the team lead for scoring with 11 points. Jongkuch went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field while Kuxhausen made three 3s.
- Bryce Kennedy led the Bears with eight rebounds, one shy of his career-high. He also had two points and an assist.
- Zach Bloch made his first two career threes going 2-of-5 behind the arc. He finished the game with those six points, a rebound and an assist.
- Matt Johnson II scored nine points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the line with two assists and three rebounds.
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado returns home for some holiday hoops to close out the non-conference season. UNC will host Northern New Mexico on Tuesday, December 21 at 6 pm.
Tickets start are just $2 using the link UNCBears.com/HolidayHoops.
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
WSU
FG%
.321
.429
3FG%
.281
.364
FT%
.765
.889
RB
32
42
TO
17
8
STL
1
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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