Bears Rally Past Idaho, 76-67, in Regular-Season Road Finale

Saturday, February 28

Moscow, Idaho

2 p.m. MST | 1 p.m. PST

University of Northern Colorado

19-11,9-8Big Sky

Idaho

16-14,8-9Big Sky

Northern Colo.

Idaho

Photo by: Lexie Martin

2/28/2026 4:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Brooke Richards, Director of Strategic Communications

MOSCOW, Idaho – Northern Colorado closed its regular-season road slate with a statement win Saturday afternoon, rallying from a halftime deficit to beat Idaho 76-67 at ICCU Arena.

The Bears trailed 40-33 at the break after Idaho controlled the first half with paint touches and second-chance opportunities, holding a 20-6 edge in points in the paint and scoring eight second-chance points. Idaho shot 45.2% in the opening 20 minutes and leaned on Jackson Rasmussen and Biko Johnson early as the Vandals built an eight-point lead.

UNC flipped the game with a composed, efficient second half. The Bears shot 50.0% after halftime, hit 4-of-7 from three, and outscored Idaho 43-27 while holding the Vandals to 25.6% shooting in the second period. Northern Colorado briefly took its first lead of the half at 49-48 following a flagrant-one call on Rasmussen that sent Brock Wisne to the line, then stretched the margin behind timely threes and steady free-throw shooting. A Quinn Denker three at the 8:54 mark pushed UNC in front 57-53, and the Bears closed it out at the stripe, finishing 17-of-19 at the line while scoring 13 fast-break points on the day.

Denker led the way with a game-high 33 points on 10-of-16 shooting, going 4-of-5 from deep and 9-of-11 at the free-throw line while adding seven assists and seven rebounds.

Wisne added 15 points, Ibu Yamazaki scored seven, and Vincent Delano delivered a strong bench spark with nine points and five assists. Idaho was led by Rasmussen and Isaiah Brickner with 15 points apiece, but the Vandals went cold after the break, finishing 34.3% overall and 6-of-29 from three.

With the win, Northern Colorado improved to 19-11 overall and 9-8 in Big Sky play, and the Bears now return home to close the regular season Monday in Greeley against Montana.

RECORD WATCH: Brock Wisne moved into 9th place on UNC's all-time scoring list with 1,395 career points and now sits fifth in program history in field goals made with 580.

Zach Bloch continues to make steady progress across multiple career categories, ranking seventh all-time at UNC in three-pointers made (197) and sixth in three-point attempts (504), while sitting in second in games played with 131, just two shy of holding the program record. Bloch also has 98 career steals, 15 away from cracking the all-time top 10, and is closing in on single-season marks as well, sitting in sixth in made three's with 87 and is four steals shy of the season top 10.

Quinn Denker remains one of the most productive playmakers in program history, currently ranking second on UNC's single-season assists list with 199, just four assists away from breaking the record.

As a team, the 2025-26 squad is only six assists away from breaking the programs single season record of 506, set by the 2024-25 team.

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).