University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Thursday, March 10
Boise, Idaho
8:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
19-14,13-7Big Sky
68
vs
67
Eastern Washington
18-15,11-9Big Sky
1
2
F
Eastern Wash.
32
35
67
Northern Colo.
42
26
68
Photo by: Thomas Hoffman
Bears Survive and Advance to Big Sky Semifinals
3/10/2022 11:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Northern Colorado defeated Eastern Washington 68-67
BOISE, Idaho – Survive and advance. The famous words of March rang true Thursday night as Northern Colorado survived to play another game in a 68-67 win over Eastern Washington.
EWU got off three shots in the final five seconds in an attempt to win the game, but missed the first, had the second blocked by Jamel Melvin and the third go off the rim as well.
The three-ball was the name of the game in the first half for the Bears as they were 9-for-18 from downtown to take a 42-32 lead into the locker room. Five different players made threes in the first half led by Matt Johnson II's three.
He finished the night with five and a game-high 24 points.
It took a moment for UNC to get on the scoreboard, but Dru Kuxhausen started the momentum once they did with a personal 8-0 run. The Bears pushed the lead to 15-6 making it a 13-0 run.
Northern Colorado's defense continued to hold strong and the shots kept falling building the lead to 14. EWU responds with a 7-0 run. The run didn't slow down the Bears though as they worked it back up to 14 and held a double-figure lead at the break.
UNC's lead grew to as much as 17 early in the second half, but then shots would not fall for the Bears. UNC shot just 36.4% in the second half as Eastern Washington chipped away at the lead.
First with a 12-5 run to get it to 10, then Steele Venters heated up for the Eagles scoring the final seven points in a 10-0 run to make it a two-point game with 4:39 left.
Matt Johnson II and Bodie Hume hit two big threes back-to-back to push the lead back to eight, but EWU never went away.
After UNC went back up by five with 1:16 left, EWU made four straight free throws and got one more stop leading to the frantic ending.
What They Said
Stat of the Game
Northern Colorado shot just 37.5% in the game but made 13 threes to offset the shooting in the win.
Game Notes
- Matt Johnson II once against came up big for the Bears scoring a game-high 24 points while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out two assists. He made five of the team's 13 threes.
- Daylen Kountz scored 17 points to go with his four rebounds, assist, steal and block.
- Dru Kuxhausen was cooking again with 14 points, including three threes.
- Kur Jongkuch had a big game cleaning the glass with 11 rebounds.
- Northern Colorado held EWU to 43.3% shooting.
Around the Big Sky
Montana State, Weber State and Portland State will join UNC in the Big Sky semifinals on Friday. MSU defeated Sacramento State 83-61, WSU won 68-56 over Montana and PSU upset Southern Utah 77-65.
What's Ahead
It's on to the semifinals for Northern Colorado. The Bears will face Portland State at 8 pm inside Idaho Central Arena Friday night.
To stay up to date on all things UNC Men's Basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
EWU got off three shots in the final five seconds in an attempt to win the game, but missed the first, had the second blocked by Jamel Melvin and the third go off the rim as well.
🔒⬇️ defense! Bears move on!!#GetUpGreeley🐻🏀 pic.twitter.com/6oyeljtNPE
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) March 11, 2022
The three-ball was the name of the game in the first half for the Bears as they were 9-for-18 from downtown to take a 42-32 lead into the locker room. Five different players made threes in the first half led by Matt Johnson II's three.
He finished the night with five and a game-high 24 points.
Make that 2️⃣4️⃣ points for @mattoraw23!#GetUpGreeley🐻🏀 pic.twitter.com/YVxUB1G61L
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) March 11, 2022
It took a moment for UNC to get on the scoreboard, but Dru Kuxhausen started the momentum once they did with a personal 8-0 run. The Bears pushed the lead to 15-6 making it a 13-0 run.
Northern Colorado's defense continued to hold strong and the shots kept falling building the lead to 14. EWU responds with a 7-0 run. The run didn't slow down the Bears though as they worked it back up to 14 and held a double-figure lead at the break.
UNC's lead grew to as much as 17 early in the second half, but then shots would not fall for the Bears. UNC shot just 36.4% in the second half as Eastern Washington chipped away at the lead.
First with a 12-5 run to get it to 10, then Steele Venters heated up for the Eagles scoring the final seven points in a 10-0 run to make it a two-point game with 4:39 left.
Matt Johnson II and Bodie Hume hit two big threes back-to-back to push the lead back to eight, but EWU never went away.
From downtown!@bodiehume | #GetUpGreeley🐻🏀 pic.twitter.com/HlxeMJlNtC
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) March 11, 2022
After UNC went back up by five with 1:16 left, EWU made four straight free throws and got one more stop leading to the frantic ending.
What They Said
Stat of the Game
Northern Colorado shot just 37.5% in the game but made 13 threes to offset the shooting in the win.
Game Notes
- Matt Johnson II once against came up big for the Bears scoring a game-high 24 points while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out two assists. He made five of the team's 13 threes.
- Daylen Kountz scored 17 points to go with his four rebounds, assist, steal and block.
- Dru Kuxhausen was cooking again with 14 points, including three threes.
- Kur Jongkuch had a big game cleaning the glass with 11 rebounds.
- Senior Bodie Hume did a little of everything for the Bears scoring five points, including a key three late while adding in five rebounds, a team-high four assists and a block.AIR KUR@kjongkuch | #GetUpGreeley🐻🏀 pic.twitter.com/koRvpomOwo
— UNC Men's Basketball (@UNC_BearsMBB) March 11, 2022
- Northern Colorado held EWU to 43.3% shooting.
Around the Big Sky
Montana State, Weber State and Portland State will join UNC in the Big Sky semifinals on Friday. MSU defeated Sacramento State 83-61, WSU won 68-56 over Montana and PSU upset Southern Utah 77-65.
What's Ahead
It's on to the semifinals for Northern Colorado. The Bears will face Portland State at 8 pm inside Idaho Central Arena Friday night.
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%
.433
.375
3FG%
.188
.419
FT%
.706
.700
RB
41
33
TO
10
8
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
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