UNC MEN’S BASKETBALL ENDS REGULAR SEASON WITH 87-72
University of Northern Colorado students, dressed in their pajamas for “PJs and Pancakes” night, stormed the court and participated in the men’s basketball team’s final home huddle.
Maybe a court storm, using the term loosely, wasn’t warranted, but the Bears loved it. After the season they’ve had, getting one final win at Bank of Colorado Arena meant a lot.
UNC (11-19, 6-12 Big Sky) defeated Idaho State (1120, 8-10 Big Sky), 87-72, after a 7-0 run in the final two minutes and out-scoring the Bengals 17-3 in the final five.
“Getting a win, getting a chance — with 35 seconds left — to have guys like Matt (Johnson) and Daylen (Kountz) get that standing ovation, that’s really cool for them. They will remember that (for) the rest of their lives; and to do that against a good team,” said UNC coach Steve Smiley. “These guys just beat Eastern Washington fairly handily, I thought. Eastern Washington, we all know how good they are. I think these guys have played really, really good basketball, so I think we beat a good team.”
The Bengals came to northern Colorado after upsetting No. 1 Eastern Washington, who had been undefeated until Saturday, meaning anything could happen.
Both teams traded points for several stretches of the contest, including a shot at the first half buzzer to give ISU a one-point lead at the break. The game featured four ties and 10 lead changes.
It was exciting and a little bit stressful. Fans — including Johnson’s mom — did their fair share of cheering and occasionally expressing their disagreement with a foul call.
Idaho State’s Miguel Tomley made a layup with 5:47 left in the contest, making the score 70-69 in favor of the Bears.
But, despite allowing the Bengals to stay in it and being on the losing end of many close games this season, Northern Colorado came out of this one victorious.
The “big three” of Johnson, Kountz and senior Dalton Knecht scored all but two points down the stretch. Junior Theo Hughes and freshman Brock Wisne’s production down low contributed directly to the win, while other underclassmen provided strong minutes.
Then, Kountz and Johnson checked out of the game for one last time in Greeley.
“I pulled both those guys aside, in private, before the game today after our little shoot around. I just told them that regardless of how the season’s going, what you guys have done, your body of work and the loyalty that those guys have had, they set such a standard of being an everyday guy,” Smiley said. “They’re really good human beings. Those are the type of people I want to be around at the end of the day. That’s probably the biggest thing: it’s fun to coach kids like that and they’ve made our job really fun.”
It was the kind of game that happens in movies. The shots fell, they made their free throws, the defense strengthened in the second half, and the win happened on a big night.
UNC needed a game where everything clicked before the Big Sky Tournament starts this weekend.
“I’ve been here six years. It’s been a long time,” said graduate student Matt Johnson. “I’ve been through so many stages during my years here: redshirting to not playing to starting. I love Bear country. I love Greeley, obviously, because I stayed here so long. It means a lot to me to get this dub, for sure, and to go out on a good note.”
After the conclusion, UNC will be the No. 8 seed in the Big Sky Tournament and plays No. 9 Portland State at 8 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+. Broadcast and schedules are subject to change.
Dalton Knecht: 18 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST
Daylen Kountz: 27 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST
Matt Johnson: 12 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL
Theo Hughes: 7 PTS, 5 REB, 3 BLK
UNC shooting: 32-58 FG, 5-18 3FG, 18-24 FT
UNC other: 33 REB (4 OREB), 11 AST, 2 STL, 6 BLK, 18 PF, 7 TO
Idaho State shooting: 28-64 FG, 6-21 3FG, 10-16 FT
Idaho State other: 35 REB (9 OREB), 13 AST, 3 STL, 4 BLK, 19 PF, 7 TO