First Place on the Line Saturday in Missoula

Saturday, January 11

Missoula, Mont.

4 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

Montana

1/10/2025 3:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Michael High, Assistant Athletics Director for Strategic Communications

UNC (11-5, 3-0 BSC) at Montana (10-6, 2-0 BSC)
Dahlberg Arena, Montana
Saturday, January 11, 2025 | 4 p.m. MT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KMKZ 93.5
Live Stats | UNC Notes | U M Notes | BSC Notes
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OPENING TIP
• UNC and Montana enter Saturday's 4 p.m. tilt as the only two unbeaten teams in Big Sky Conference play.
• Both teams boast a 3-0 mark in league play, with UNC on a five-game winning streak, while the Grizzlies won their last three.
• Marcell McCreary became the fourth different Bear to score at least 20 points in a game this season, with his 21 in the win at
• Montana State. At least one member of the squad tallied 20 or more points in 10 of UNC's 16 games this season.

SERIES HISTORY
UNC trails the all-time series 28-16, including 22-15 since UNC joined the Big Sky Conference
The Bears are 8-15 all-time in Missoula all-time.
UNC won both games last season and owns a two-game winning streak in the series.
Over the last 10 games, the Bears hold a 7-3 mark, including 3-2 in the last five.
UNC defeated the Grizzlies 98-92 in overtime on Montana's floor Jan. 11, 2024.
Montana's last home win in the series occured Feb. 2, 2023, a 69-67 victory over UNC.

LAST TIME OUT FOR UNC
• Following a 3-pointer by Montana State with 12:45 left in the game, Northern Colorado faced a 63-43 deficit and just a 15.7% chance of winning the game at Worthington Arena Thursday.
• Marcell McCreary fueled the Bears rally, scoring 18 of his 21 points in the final 20 minutes, knocking down 7 of 8 from the floor, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
• UNC scored 43 points over the first 27 minutes but a triple by Isaiah Hawthorne with 12:31 left cut the margin to 17 and jumpstarted a 40-19 spurt to close out the victory.
• McCreary's triple with 5:40 remaining capped a 31-10 run and pushed the Bears in front at 74-73. He buried his next attempt from distance on the next possession, extending the gap to the largest of the game for UNC at 77-73.
• The teams swapped the lead six times over the final 4:32, with Langston Reynolds delivering the final four points for the Bears, including the final bucket with :04 showing. Reynolds posted the second-consecutive 1-point win for UNC on the Bears final shot in the waning seconds.

LAST TIME OUT FOR MONTANA
Montana remained unbeaten at home this season with an 81-76 over Northern Arizona at Dahlberg Arena.
The Griz led by 17 points in the first half, but Northern Arizona made it close in the second half.
A 5-0 run from NAU after a score, steal, and score cut the Grizzlies lead to just three, before holding on to remain unbeaten in conference play.

UP NEXT
• The Bears return to Bank of Colorado Arena Thursday, Jan. 16, at 6 p.m., against Portland State.

REYNOLDS ON A STREAK
• Junior guard Langston Reynolds notched his 15th double-digit scoring performance of the season in the win over Montana State.
• Reynolds tallied 12 points in the victory, recording at least 10 in every game he competed in this season.
• Reynolds notched his league-leading third Big Sky weekly honor after helping the Bears to a pair of wins last week.
• The Denver, Colorado native ranks in the top 10 in the Big Sky in assists (50), assists per game (3.6), field goals (101), field-goal attempts (159), field-goal percentage (63.5), free-throws (45), free-throw attempts (67), minutes (32:03), points (253) and points-per-game (18.1).

DEFENSIVE ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
• KenPom ranks UNC fourth in defensive rebounding percentage.
• The Bears held Idaho State, which averaged a nation-leading 15.1 offensive boards to 11 in the overtime victory.
• UNC allowed double-digit offensive rebounds in six games this season and held opponents to seven or fewer in the other 10/

COLORADO PREP PIPELINE
• Zach Bloch, Langston Reynolds, Egan Shields and Brock Wisne all attended Colorado Prep before joining the Bears. All four play valuable minutes, with Bloch, Reynolds and Wisne cracking the starting five, while Shields joined the lineup after redshirting last season.

BIG SKY TOURNY TICKETS
Tickets for the 2025 Big Sky Basketball Championships, presented by Idaho Central Credit Union, are on sale now. 

The men's and women's basketball tournaments will be hosted at Idaho Central Arena on March 8-12, marking the seventh straight year that Starch Madness will be held in Boise, Idaho. 

Fans can purchase all-tournament, all-session ticket packages for both the men's and women's sessions for courtside, reserved, and general admission seating.
  
Single-session tickets will be available for purchase Monday, Feb. 3. To purchase tickets, visit uncbears.com/tickets or call 970-351-4849.

Tickets can also be purchased at the Campus Commons Ticket Office, Monday-Friday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. TicketSmarter is the official resale marketplace of UNC athletics.

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