Bobcats charge past Bears in Bozeman

Saturday, February 4

Bozeman, Mont.

4 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

7-16,2-9Big Sky

Montana State

17-8,10-2Big Sky

Northern Colo.

Montana St.

Photo by: Jam David

2/4/2023 6:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Northern Colorado men's basketball team dropped a 75-62 decision on the road to Montana State on Saturday evening. UNC shot 43.8 percent from the field, but the Bobcats' defense held strong as the Bears dropped to 7-16 (2-9 Big Sky) on the season.

UNC had a slow start to the contest, shooting just 34.6% in the opening half, and combined with some early foul trouble, really hampered the Bears' offensive output. In the second half, the Bears started hitting their shots, shooting 54.5%, but the Bobcats forced eight turnovers to keep UNC on its heels.

Northern Colorado's best run of the game came early in the second half. While facing a 23-point deficit less than three minutes after halftime, the Bears outscored the Bobcats 14-2 in a five-minute window to bring the game within 11.

"Obviously, we dug a big hole early, recovered back to 19-17, but then played really poorly when Montana State had a huge run to take control at the end of the first half," head coach Steve Smiley remarked after the game. "I thought our effort was really hood in the second half and we showed flashes of being able to compete against one of the top teams in our league, but we have to find more consistency early on to give ourselves a better chance."

"With the quick turnaround for Monday, the biggest focus immediately will be on Weber State and what we need to do to play better for 40 minutes. With that game in less than 48 hours, we have to have short-term memory loss from today and be able to focus on the task at hand."

BY THE NUMBERS

Daylen Kountz and Matt Johnson II put up 15 points each in the contest.
UNC shot 50% (4-for-8) from behind the arc in the first half.
The Bears limited Montana State to just eight points of second chances.

UP NEXT
The Bears have a quick turnaround as they host Weber State for a Monday night matchup at Bank of Colorado Arena on Feb. 6. The game will be televised on ESPNU, and tickets for the game are still available at UNCBears.com/Tickets