Northern Colorado secured a 95-79 win over Sacramento State on Thursday night at Bank of Colorado Arena. The Bears led for more than 39 minutes and recorded one of their most efficient offensive games this season.
The team shot 56.1 percent from the field and scored 52 points in the paint. They finished with 26 assists on 37 made field goals and never trailed during the game.
Quinn Denker set a new program record with 16 assists, surpassing Jonah Radebaugh’s previous mark of 13 set in 2020. This performance also ranks as the fifth-best single-game assist total in Big Sky Conference history.
Northern Colorado established control early, shooting nearly 62 percent in the first half and making eight three-pointers to take a 51-37 halftime lead.
Brock Wisne contributed significantly with 16 first-half points, six rebounds, and three assists. Zach Bloch added 11 points on three three-pointers, while Ring Nyeri had six points and seven rebounds. The Bears out-rebounded Sacramento State by a margin of 41-29.
Wisne continued his strong play after halftime, ending with a career-high-matching 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting and collecting 11 rebounds for his fourth career double-double.
Bloch finished with 17 points and five made threes, while Denker scored 22 points alongside his record-setting assist total.
Sacramento State reduced Northern Colorado’s lead to single digits midway through the second half during a nearly six-minute scoring drought for the Bears. However, Ibu Yamazaki ended that stretch with a dunk assisted by Denker at the 10:09 mark, helping Northern Colorado regain momentum.
The Bears then rebuilt their lead through interior scoring and timely outside shooting to secure the victory.
Sacramento State shot under 36 percent from the field and below 27 percent from three-point range. Northern Colorado maintained an advantage inside, finishing with a decisive edge in paint scoring (52-26) and points off turnovers (13-2).
In terms of records:
Brock Wisne moved into fourteenth place on UNC’s all-time scoring list with 1,318 career points and is now fifth in program history for field goals made at 549.
Zach Bloch now ranks seventh all-time at UNC in three-pointers made (191), sixth in attempts (486), fifth in games played (127), just five short of the school record. He has also tallied 96 career steals—17 away from entering UNC’s top ten—and is approaching single-season marks.
Quinn Denker currently stands third on UNC’s single-season assists list with 177.
Next up for Northern Colorado is a home game against Portland State on Saturday at Bank of Colorado Arena at 2 p.m. MST. The event will include a Teddy Bear Toss sponsored by Banner Health; fans are encouraged to bring stuffed animals for donation to young patients at Banner.
Fans can follow updates about Northern Colorado basketball through their official website or social media channels such as X (@UNC_BearsMBB), Instagram (@UNC_BearsMBB), and Facebook (/UNCBearsMBB).
