#5 Baylor tops UNC in Battle of the Bears

Monday, November 14

Waco, Texas

6 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

1-2,0-0Big Sky

Baylor

3-0,0-0Big 12

Northern Colo.

Baylor

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

11/14/2022 8:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WACO, Texas—Playing their second national title contender in the last eight days, Northern Colorado fell to No. 5-ranked Baylor 95-62 inside the Ferrell Center on Monday night.

Northern Colorado (1-2) managed an early 5-2 lead thanks to a 3-point make by Matt Johnson II, but Baylor (3-0), the preseason Big XII favorite, used aggressive defense to force 14 turnovers in the first half to stake a double-digit lead at the break.

Johnson II paced the UNC attack in the first half by draining 3 of 4 from long range.

Returning in the second half, Johnson connected on his fourth 3-pointer to pull UNC to within 15 with the score resting at 46-31.

With 15 minutes remaining, UNC continued to stay within the 15-point deficit range thanks to a Dalton Knecht make from deep that forced a Baylor timeout.

Baylor, a team that has earned back-to-back No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, went on to shoot 54.1 percent from the floor in the second half to pull away in front of their home crowd.

Daylen Kountz led all UNC scorers with 19 points while Johnson II closed out the contest with a 14-point effort. Knecht pulled in a 'double-double' with 12 points and a team-high 12 boards.

UNC will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 14 when it hosts San Jose State inside the Bank of Colorado Arena. Opening tip against the Trojans is set for 2 p.m.