Northern Colorado secured a 76-67 victory over Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, on Saturday, closing out its regular-season road games. The Bears overcame a seven-point halftime deficit after Idaho took control early with strong play inside and second-chance points. In the first half, Idaho led 40-33, benefiting from an advantage in points in the paint and offensive rebounds.
In the second half, Northern Colorado improved its shooting to 50 percent and limited Idaho to just 25.6 percent from the field. The Bears also hit four of seven three-point attempts after halftime and outscored the Vandals by 16 points in the final period. A key moment came when Brock Wisne gave UNC its first lead at 49-48 following a flagrant foul call against Jackson Rasmussen. The team then extended its lead with timely three-pointers and consistent free-throw shooting.
Quinn Denker led all scorers with 33 points on efficient shooting, including four three-pointers and nine free throws. He also contributed seven assists and seven rebounds. Wisne added 15 points, while Ibu Yamazaki scored seven. Vincent Delano provided support off the bench with nine points and five assists.
Idaho’s top performers were Rasmussen and Isaiah Brickner, each scoring 15 points. However, the Vandals struggled offensively in the second half, finishing with just over 34 percent shooting for the game.
With this win, Northern Colorado’s record stands at 19-11 overall and 9-8 in Big Sky Conference play. The Bears will conclude their regular season at home against Montana on Monday.
Brock Wisne reached ninth place on Northern Colorado’s all-time scoring list with 1,395 career points and moved into fifth for career field goals made at UNC with 580. Zach Bloch continues to climb several statistical categories: he is seventh all-time in three-pointers made (197), sixth in attempts (504), second in games played (131), and is close to entering both single-season records for steals and threes made.
Denker is currently second on UNC’s single-season assists list with 199—just four away from breaking the program record. As a team, Northern Colorado is six assists short of surpassing its single-season assist record set last year.
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