Bears Rattle Off Three in a Row, Defeating Sac State 70-54

Saturday, February 11

Greeley, Colo.

6 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

10-16,5-9Big Sky

Sacramento State

12-14,5-8Big Sky

Sacramento St.

Northern Colo.

Photo by: Ross LaDue

2/11/2023 8:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

GREELEY, Colo. -- A strong defensive effort led the Northern Colorado men's basketball team to its third-straight victory in six days, as the Bears defeated Sacramento State 70-54 at Bank of Colorado Arena on Saturday night.

UNC grabbed a season-high 45 boards in the game, out-rebounding the Hornets 45-38, marking the third-straight game in which the Bears have out-rebounded their opponents. The 54 points scored by the Hornets, ties the Bears best effort on defense this season, as UNC also held Weber State to 54 points to start off the three-game winning streak.

The game started with the Hornets hitting their first four-of-five shots to take an early 10-5 lead. However, UNC kept up the pressure and eventually climbed to a 35-25 lead by halftime. Sacramento State ended up shooting just 30.3% in the first half, compared to the Bears' 41.4%. In the second half, UNC got even better, shooting 48.4% while keeping Sac State to just 10-for-34 (29.4%).

ACCORDING TO COACH SMILEY
"I do think that these three games this week we really kind of clicked, fired on all cylinders, and the entire team just played really, really well, so I'm super proud of the guys right now." head coach Steve Smiley said. "Tonight, I thought the big thing was that is the fifth game in nine days, and it is emotionally exhausting for these for these kids, and I thought they came out and played really well to finish the week off."

BY THE NUMBERS

Senior Dalton Knecht was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing the contest with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Fellow senior Matt Johnson II also finished the night with 16 points, and added four rebounds.
Riley Abercrombie hit a trio of threes in the second half and ended the night with 12 points, shooting 4-for-8 from behind the arc.
Daylen Kountz finished the night with 11 points shooting 4-for-10 from the field.

UP NEXT
UNC hits the road for the final time of the regular season, taking on Idaho on Thursday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. (MT).