University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Thursday, February 24
Greeley, Colo.
6:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
16-13,11-6Big Sky
76
vs
85
Eastern Washington
15-13,9-8Big Sky
1
2
F
Eastern Wash.
37
48
85
Northern Colo.
38
38
76
Photo by: Jam David
Timely Plays the Difference as Men's Basketball Drops Contest
2/24/2022 9:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UNC men's basketball missed a chance to clinch a bye in the Big Sky Tournament Thursday
GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado men's basketball had the opportunity to clinch a first round bye in the Big Sky Tournament but missed out dropping the game to Eastern Washington 85-76.
In a tightly contested game, it came down to timely plays.
UNC held a one-point lead at the break but saw the lead go to EWU early in the second half. The Eagles took the lead with 15:37 left in the game and slowly built on it.
The first sequence of key plays came with back-to-back threes to grow the advantage to seven, but Matt Johnson II hit one of his five threes to pull the Bears back within a two-possession game as both teams went cold from the field.
Johnson II led all players in the game with 20 points.
Unfortunately for Northern Colorado, Johnson II's three with 10:18 on the clock would be their last field goal for a three-and-a-half-minute stretch.
Over that time the Bears did make some free throws, so EWU's lead only grew to eight points with seven minutes remaining.
Three times over that final seven minutes Northern Colorado cut the lead back down to four, but each time EWU came down on the next possession and scored to keep the Bears an arm's length away.
What They Said
Stat of the Game
Eastern Washington used its size to its advantage outscoring UNC 34-22 in the paint and outrebounded the Bears 35-30.
Game Notes
- Matt Johnson was a key to UNC's offense all night long scoring 20 points while dishing out seven assists. The senior also led the team with two steals.
- Despite battling foul trouble in the first half, Daylen Kountz scored 16 points for UNC along with two assists and four rebounds.
- Dru Kuzhausen continues to do what Dru Kuxhausen does best, make threes. He connected for four makes Thursday night giving him 91 on the year. He is now fourth for most threes in a season by a Bear.
- UNC had good ball movement with 15 assists on 27 made shots.
Around the Big Sky
The race for a bye in Boise tightened up on Thursday night. EWU has emerged as a challenger along with Portland State. Meanwhile, Southern Utah helped themselves with a big 82-74 comeback win over Montana.
What's Ahead
UNC hosts Idaho on Saturday for its final home game of the year. Prior to the 6 pm tip-off, the Bears will honor five seniors in Bodie Hume, Matt Johnson II, Kur Jogkuch, Dru Kuxhausen and Tre'shon Smoots.
Tickets for the game 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.
In a tightly contested game, it came down to timely plays.
UNC held a one-point lead at the break but saw the lead go to EWU early in the second half. The Eagles took the lead with 15:37 left in the game and slowly built on it.
The first sequence of key plays came with back-to-back threes to grow the advantage to seven, but Matt Johnson II hit one of his five threes to pull the Bears back within a two-possession game as both teams went cold from the field.
Johnson II led all players in the game with 20 points.
Unfortunately for Northern Colorado, Johnson II's three with 10:18 on the clock would be their last field goal for a three-and-a-half-minute stretch.
Over that time the Bears did make some free throws, so EWU's lead only grew to eight points with seven minutes remaining.
Three times over that final seven minutes Northern Colorado cut the lead back down to four, but each time EWU came down on the next possession and scored to keep the Bears an arm's length away.
What They Said
Stat of the Game
Eastern Washington used its size to its advantage outscoring UNC 34-22 in the paint and outrebounded the Bears 35-30.
Game Notes
- Matt Johnson was a key to UNC's offense all night long scoring 20 points while dishing out seven assists. The senior also led the team with two steals.
- Despite battling foul trouble in the first half, Daylen Kountz scored 16 points for UNC along with two assists and four rebounds.
- Dru Kuzhausen continues to do what Dru Kuxhausen does best, make threes. He connected for four makes Thursday night giving him 91 on the year. He is now fourth for most threes in a season by a Bear.
- UNC had good ball movement with 15 assists on 27 made shots.
Around the Big Sky
The race for a bye in Boise tightened up on Thursday night. EWU has emerged as a challenger along with Portland State. Meanwhile, Southern Utah helped themselves with a big 82-74 comeback win over Montana.
What's Ahead
UNC hosts Idaho on Saturday for its final home game of the year. Prior to the 6 pm tip-off, the Bears will honor five seniors in Bodie Hume, Matt Johnson II, Kur Jogkuch, Dru Kuxhausen and Tre'shon Smoots.
Tickets for the game 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
EWU
UNC
FG%
.549
.435
3FG%
.526
.350
FT%
.792
.571
RB
35
30
TO
14
11
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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