Northern Colorado men’s basketball ended a demanding stretch of three games in three days with a close win over Cal State Fullerton, 97-93, on Sunday at the Chiles Center in Portland. The victory gave the Bears a 2-1 record at the Portland Invitational and improved their season record to 5-1.
Zach Bloch led Northern Colorado with a career-high 32 points, making nine field goals and seven three-pointers. He hit six of his threes in the first half, helping UNC take a 39-33 lead at halftime and maintain control for most of the game.
Other players contributed key performances as well. Ibu Yamazaki was perfect from the free-throw line, hitting all eight attempts—all in the second half—to finish with 10 points. Egan Shields added 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds while setting his own career high with four made free throws. Vincent Delano scored 11 points and also had a career-best seven free throws, several coming late to slow down Cal State Fullerton’s comeback efforts.
Cal State Fullerton closed the gap to one point midway through the second half, but Northern Colorado responded each time. Brock Wisne finished with 15 points and nine rebounds; Quinn Denker added 13 points.
The Bears’ strong performance at the free-throw line played a significant role in their win. They made 34 out of 40 attempts (85%), including a streak of 14 straight in the second half. Six players scored in double figures for Northern Colorado as they held off Fullerton despite Bryce Cofield’s team-high 27 points for the Titans.
Northern Colorado will return home before playing its next game against Air Force on Wednesday, November 26 at 4 p.m. MST.
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