Northern Colorado began its Big Sky Conference men’s basketball schedule with a road loss to Montana State, falling 89-75 on Thursday night at Worthington Arena in Bozeman.
Montana State built momentum with a 14-0 run midway through the first half and led 39-33 at halftime. Northern Colorado came out strong after the break, tying the game at 39 early in the second half. However, Montana State responded quickly and maintained control for the remainder of the game, scoring 50 points in the second half.
Zach Bloch led Northern Colorado with 18 points, including four three-pointers. Ibu Yamazaki added 15 points, while Quinn Denker contributed 14 points and seven assists. Egan Shields recorded a team-high 11 rebounds.
Northern Colorado made nine three-pointers and had a 36-30 advantage in rebounding. Despite this, Montana State shot over 52 percent from the field and capitalized on turnovers, converting a 13-7 edge into key points during an important stretch of the second half.
Northern Colorado will continue its conference road trip on Saturday, January 3, facing Montana at Dahlberg Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. MST.
Fans can follow updates on Northern Colorado Bears men’s basketball through their official website uncbears.com as well as on X (@UNC_BearsMBB), Instagram (@UNC_BearsMBB), and Facebook (/UNCBearsMBB).
