GREELEY — Junior guard Devon Beitzel scored 11 of his 19 points during the second half Monday night, leading Northern Colorado to a 72-57 victory over Denver.
Senior guard Will Figures added 15 points for UNC (11-3). The Bears shot 7-for-16 on 3-pointers and are off to their best start since opening 10-2 in the 1988-89 season.
Andrew Hooper led Denver (9-4) with 14 points. Brian Stafford scored 11 points for the Pioneers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
DU coach Joe Scott received his second technical foul of the game and was ejected with 6:11 left.
The second half began with Figures making one free throw of a two-shot technical, called on Scott when he was walking off the floor at halftime.
Figures’ 3-pointer early in the second half gave the Bears a 51-41 advantage.
DU’s leading scorer, Nate Rohnert, who was limited to two points in the first half, pulled the Pioneers to within 51-48 with 9:03 left. But the Bears scored the next seven points, the last three on a 3-pointer to go up 58-48.
Figures added a free throw when Scott was ejected to make it 59-48.
Northern Colorado dominated on the boards, taking a 14-3 advantage in offensive rebounds and doubling DU in total rebounds at 38-19.
For the most part the Bears also kept DU off the free-throw line, where the Pioneers shot 2-for-3.
The Pioneers haven’t beaten the Bears in Greeley since Feb. 7, 2005.
“It takes a certain level of experience to beat a good team on the road,” Scott said. “And Northern Colorado is a good team.
“We need to keep working to improve.”
