Bears Set to Make Program History Wednesday

Wednesday, March 19

Irvine, Calif.

8 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

UC Irvine

Tickets

3/18/2025 3:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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UNC Debut in NIT at UC Irvine

By: Michael High, Assistant Athletics Director for Strategic Communications

For the first time in program history, UNC earned a bid to the NIT.
UNC faces UC Irvine from the Big West Conference in the first round.
Wednesday's meeting marks the first time between the two programs on the hardwood.
The Bears won their first Big Sky Conference regular-season championship before falling in the title game against Montana.
The Bears earned their sixth trip to the postseason in the NCAA Division I era, including the third trip under head coach Steve Smiley. They competed in the College Basketball Invitational after the 2021 and 2024 campaigns.
UNC made three appearances in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, earning bids to the 2010 and 2014 tournaments before winning the 2018 CIT. Following the 2021-22 campaign, the Bears defeated FAU 74-71 before an 87-84 triumph over UNC Ashville in the quarterfinals of the CBI before falling to eventual champion UNC Wilmington in the semifinals.

ABOUT THE NIT FIELD

Dayton qualified for the 28th time, the most in the 87th NIT, the oldest postseason tournament in college basketball. CSUN, Jacksonville State, Northern Alabama, Samford UC Riverside and UNC each earned an invite for the first time.
First-round action on campus sites features the number one seeds SMU, Dayton, San Francisco, and UC Irvine, which face UNI, Florida Atlantic, Utah Valley, and Northern Colorado, respectively.
Other first-round games include Wichita State at Oklahoma State, Saint Louis at Arkansas State, Furman at North Texas, Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech, UAB at Saint Joseph's, UC Riverside at Santa Clara, Chattanooga at Middle Tennessee, North Alabama at Bradley, Samford at George Mason, Loyola Chicago at San Jose State, Kent State at St. Bonaventure, and CSUN at Stanford.

ABOUT THE ANTEATERS

The Anteaters earned the top seed in the Irvine Region after falling to UC San Diego in the Big West Conference title game Saturday, March 15.
They qualified for their ninth appearance in the NIT, including each of the last three seasons. The Anteaters are 2-8 all-time in the tournament, with all 10 games on the road. They defeated San Diego State 70-69 in the first round of the 1982 tournament, with their last win occurring in the 1986 first round at UCLA (80-74) in 1986.
UC Irvine finished second in the Big West at 17-3, one game behind UC San Diego.
Notable alumni of UC Irvine include David Benioff, Michael Chabon, Greg Louganis and Jon Lovitz.

COLLECTING HARDWARE

Zach Bloch collected Big Sky All-Defensive Team accolades.
Isaiah Hawthorne earned All-Big Sky First Team and NABC All-Mountain District Second Team honors.
Langston Reynolds received All-Big Sky First Team and NABC All-Mountain District Second Team recognition.
Jaron Rillie obtained All-Big Sky First Team and Big Sky Tournament team accolades.

CHASING HISTORY

The Bears 25 wins rank second in school history, while the 15 wins in Big Sky Conference action matches the most for UNC.
UNC's 15 wins against Big Sky match the program record since joining the league before the 2006-07 season. The Bears posted a 15-5 mark during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
The .833 winning percentage in league play set a new program mark.
UNC's .735 winning percentage this season marks the second highest in the NCAA Division I era, trailing only the 2009-10 squad, which went 25-8 (.758) under Tad Boyle.
- It ranks fourth-best all-time among seasons with at least 20 games played.
Steve Smiley's 89 wins rank fifth on the all-time coaching record in program history. He holds the record for victories in the NCAA Division I era, which began with the 2003-04 campaign.
Smiley needs six wins to match George Sage (1963-68) for fourth on the all-time list, with 95 victories.
Thurman Wright owns the school wins record with 156 in 15 seasons from 1960 to 1983.

MILESTONE WATCH

Jaron Rillie recorded the 1,000th point, 450th assist and 450th rebound of his career during season.
Quinn Denker surpassed the 1,000-point, 250 rebound and 250 assist thresholds during the season.
Isaiah Hawthorne needs 56 points for 1,000 in his career.
Zach Bloch is 46 points shy of 500 in his career, while he needs 14 assists for 100.
Marcell McCreary needs 89 points for 500 in his career.

LEADING THE WAY

UNC makes 51.1% of its field-goal attempts, the best in the nation.
The Bears 58.3 effective field-goal percentage ranks third nationally.
UNC leads the Big Sky Conference in assists per game, defensive rebounds per game, scoring margin, scoring offense, 3-point percentage and winning percentage.
The Bears rank second in the league in assists-to-turnover ratio, fastbreak points and 3-point field-goals per game.

SUITS AND SNEAKERS

Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week is a nationwide event in which basketball coaches across the country unite for a common cause – ending cancer as we know it for everyone. To raise awareness and bring attention to the cause during this week, coaches from all around the country will wear suits and sneakers.
The UNC coaching staff donned their suits and sneakers for Saturday's game against Northern Arizona.

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.

2024-25 ROSTER

The Bears reloaded after losing eight members of the 2023-24 roster, which accounted for 59% of the offense and rebounds. Key losses include Saint Thomas (19.7 ppg, 9.8 RPG), Dejour Reaves (14.9 ppg, 3.5 RPG), Riley Abercrombie (7.4 ppg, 3.6 RPG), Theo Hughes (3.3 ppg, 2.6 RPG), Mekhi Cameron (1.6 ppg, 0.6 RPG), Connor Creech (1.3 ppg, 1.7 RPG), Juju Ramirez (1.7, 1.0) and Jalen Page (0.0 ppg, 0.5 RPG).
Smiley added depth and experience with five student-athletes from the transfer portal.

Quinn Denker | 6-3 | Guard | Idaho | San Jose, Calif.
In his single season with Idaho, Denker started 32 games while leading his team with 12.5 points and 3.7 assists per game. He averaged 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 84.4% from the foul line.

He amassed 15 or more points in 10 games last season, finishing the season 14th overall in scoring in the Big Sky Conference and seventh in minutes played. Denker joined the Bears as a current junior with one year of eligibility remaining.

Isaiah Hawthorne | 6-8 | Forward | San Francisco | Tracy, Calif.
Hawthorne spent the last five seasons at San Francisco, where he tallied 369 points, 178 rebounds, 46 assists, 41 steals and 22 blocks.

During the 2023-24 season, Hawthorne appeared in 29 games, starting eight, and averaged 3.9 points and 1.4 rebounds. He shot 43.3% from the field, including 30.8% from three-point range.

Taeshaud Jackson | 6-6 | Guard | VMI | Denver, Colo.
In two seasons with Virginia Military Institute, Jackson averaged 8.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks per game. He appeared in 64 games, including 44 starts, over his time in Virginia. Jackson started 32 of the 33 games he played during the 2023-24 campaign, tallying 344 points (10.4) and 344 rebounds (10.4), with 38 assists, 43 steals and 13 blocks.

Luca Colceag | 6-9 | Forward | Eastern Florida State College | Bucharest, Romania
Colceag spent last season at Eastern Florida State College. The Titans began the season ranked No. 1 in the National Junior College Athletic Association national poll and remained in the top ten the entire season.

During his sophomore campaign, Colceag averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.8 rebounds per game. He knocked down 35% of his attempts behind the 3-point line. Colceag converted 14 of 25 (56%) attempts behind the arc in a four-game stretch during conference play. He represented Romania in the FIBA U20 European Challengers, averaging 8.5 ppg and 10.0 rpg during the event.

William Humer | 6-8 | Forward | San Jose State | Sollentuna, Sweden
Humer appeared in 25 games – starting two - for the Spartans during the 2023-24 campaign. He established career highs of 11 points and four assists against Bethesda (Calif.) and at Montana. Against the Grizzlies, Humer hit 5 of 9 from the field in 25 minutes, establishing highs in all three categories. With an eye on the future, Smiley added four talented freshmen to the 2024 signing class.

Ariik Mawien | 6-4 | Guard | Link Year Prep Academy | Sioux Falls, S.D.
Mawien averaged 14.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per game during the 2023-24 campaign with Link Year Prep Academy. He shot 47% from the field, including 38% from 3-point range.
At Capistrano Valley Christian High School, he tallied 1,050 points and set the single-season school record with 2.5 blocks per contest.

Viktor Lukic-Gavric | 6-2 | Shooting Guard | Get Better Academy | Stockholm, Sweden
Lukic-Gavric signed a National Letter of Intent after posting 18.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists at the 2023 FIBA U18 A Division last summer. He played prep basketball at the Get Better Academy in Prague, Czech Republic.

Hunter Caldwell | 6-10 | Center | Lutheran HS | Parker, Colo.
Caldwell averaged 10.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and one block during his three seasons at Lutheran High School. In his senior campaign, he scored 16.0 points and grabbed 7.4 rebounds, with 1.1 blocks per game.

Walker Asp | 6-8 | Wing | Palmer High School | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Asp played an integral part in Palmer High School advancing to the Colorado High School Activities Association 5A Sweet 16 in his junior and senior campaigns.

In his senior season, Asp led the Terrors by scoring 14.0 ppg and rebounding 5.4 rpg, averaging 1.7 steals and almost one block per game. After his junior year, Asp earned an All-Colorado Springs Metro League Second Team Selection. He elevated his game during his final campaign, capturing the All-Colorado Springs Metro League First Team and Colorado All-State 5A Honorable Mention accolades.

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE: A unique neutral site game against South Dakota State at The Monument in Rapid City, S.D., a highly anticipated Big Sky – Summit League Challenge game in Bank of Colorado Arena and a pair of matchups against Power Four schools highlighted Northern Colorado's 2024-25 13-game non-conference basketball schedule.

The Bears hosted six regular-season games at Bank of Colorado Arena, including the season opener against Colorado College Nov. 4, Colorado Christian Nov. 12, Prairie View A&M Nov. 23, Northern New Mexico Nov. 26, St. Thomas Dec. 4 and Air Force Dec. 16.

UNC traveled to Boulder for a clash with the Buffaloes Nov. 8 before meeting South Dakota State Nov. 14. The Bears visited Pullman, Washington, for a matchup with Washington State Nov. 18 and took on Cal Baptist in Riverside, California, two days later.

They ended the first month of the season at Texas Tech Nov. 29. UNC met North Dakota State in Fargo, N.D., Dec. 7 in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge. The Bears closed out the non-conference slate at Denver Dec. 21.

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