Northern Colorado secured a decisive 85-57 victory over Montana in their regular-season finale at Bank of Colorado Arena. The Bears, who led by four points at halftime, dominated the second half by scoring 58 points and shooting nearly 67 percent from the field after the break. The team also made eight of twelve three-point attempts during this period.
Quinn Denker played a significant role in the win, recording 16 points, four assists, and seven rebounds. Denker set a new single-season assist record for Northern Colorado and contributed to a new program record for team assists in a season. Zach Bloch matched Denker’s scoring output with 16 points, hitting four three-pointers. Ring Nyeri added 15 points on efficient shooting and collected seven rebounds. Additional contributions came from Ibu Yamazaki with seven points and Egan Shields, who scored nine off the bench.
The Bears shot just under 50 percent for the game while holding Montana to under 40 percent shooting overall and less than 23 percent from beyond the arc. Northern Colorado also outscored Montana in the paint and received strong support from its bench players.
Montana’s top scorer was Money Williams with 17 points; Kenyon Aguino added ten. With this result, Northern Colorado improved to a 20-11 overall record and finished Big Sky Conference play at 10-8.
Looking ahead, Northern Colorado will await final seeding for the Big Sky Tournament, which begins March 7 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. All member schools will participate in both men’s and women’s brackets of the tournament. Winners will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship. Games will be streamed on ESPN+, with championship contests broadcast on ESPN networks.
Tickets for the tournament are available online through official channels.
Fans can follow updates about Northern Colorado basketball on their website or via social media platforms including X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.
