Northern Colorado men’s basketball achieved a significant milestone on Sunday with an 86-81 victory over Colorado at the CU Events Center in Boulder. The win, witnessed by a crowd of 8,347, marks Northern Colorado’s first win against Colorado since February 18, 1935, and its first road victory in Boulder since January 17, 1935.
The Bears’ performance also secured their tenth nonconference win of the season, the highest total in the program’s Division I history. Head coach Steve Smiley now stands one win away from his 100th career victory at Northern Colorado.
Quinn Denker made a notable return from injury, leading all scorers with a career-high 33 points. “Denker took over down the stretch, hitting a jumper at the 1:31 mark to tie the game at 80 before scoring again with 42 seconds left to give UNC the lead for good,” according to the team’s statement. Denker was supported by Ibu Yamazaki, who contributed a career-best 19 points.
Northern Colorado (10-3) started strong with an early run and maintained control through much of the first half. Although Colorado managed to tie and briefly take the lead in the second half, Northern Colorado responded with key plays from Denker and Yamazaki to secure the win.
With this result, Northern Colorado concludes nonconference play with its best record since joining Division I and enters Big Sky Conference play with momentum. The team will begin conference action on January 1 against Montana State in Bozeman, followed by a game against Montana on January 3 in Missoula. Both games will be available on ESPN+ and Pirate Radio.
Fans can support Northern Colorado men’s basketball as they move into conference play by contributing through Give for the W at https://www.give2unc.org/roundballclub. Updates and coverage are available on uncbears.com and via social media platforms including X (@UNC_BearsMBB), Instagram (@UNC_BearsMBB), and Facebook (/UNCBearsMBB).
