UNC Falls 81-77 at Northern Arizona After Late Rally

Saturday, January 24

Flagstaff, Ariz.

6 p.m. MST

University of Northern Colorado

11-10,1-7Big Sky

Northern Arizona

7-14,1-7Big Sky

Northern Colo.

Northern Ariz.

Photo by: Kyleigh Thurmond, NAU Athletics

1/24/2026 8:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Brooke Richards, Director of Strategic Communications

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern Colorado shot 50 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from three, but a late push by Northern Arizona proved to be the difference as UNC fell 81-77 on Saturday night.

UNC placed four players in double figures and cut a two-possession game to one in the final minute before the Lumberjacks closed at the free-throw line.

Brock Wisne led Northern Colorado with 18 points on an efficient 8-of-11 shooting, adding five assists and five rebounds. Zach Bloch provided a spark from the perimeter, knocking down five three-pointers and finishing with 17 points, while Quinn Denker added 16 points and five assists.

Bloch now moves to a tie for 5th for most games played in UNC men's basketball program history with 122 games.

The Bears opened the game with strong offensive rhythm, shooting 46.9 percent in the first half. Northern Colorado stretched the margin early in the second half behind timely buckets from Ring Nyeri and Bloch but Northern Arizona answered with a run of its own, shooting 63.6 percent from the field after halftime.

UNC continued to battle down the stretch, trimming a late five-point deficit to two with under a minute to play, but NAU converted timely free throws to hold off the comeback attempt.

Northern Colorado finished the night 13-of-29 from beyond the arc and committed 15 turnovers, but Northern Arizona countered by shooting 59.2 percent overall and 56.3 percent from three.

UNC drops to 11-10 overall and 1-7 in Big Sky play, while Northern Arizona improves to 7-14 overall and 1-7 in conference action.

UP NEXT: Northern Colorado returns home for a two-game Big Sky homestand at Bank of Colorado Arena, opening the stretch Thursday, Jan. 29, against Idaho Vandals at 7 p.m. MST, followed by a Saturday afternoon matchup with Eastern Washington Eagles on Jan. 31 at 2 p.m. MST. Both contests will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on Pirate Radio, as the Bears continue Big Sky play in front of the home crowd in Greeley.

FOLLOW THE BEARS: Fans can follow and stay up to date on all the Bear action at uncbears.com and on social media. Follow the Bears on X (formerly Twitter) (@UNC_BearsMBB), Instagram (@UNC_BearsMBB), and Facebook (/UNCBearsMBB).