GREELEY, Colo.—Devon Beitzel had 15 points and six assists as Northern Colorado moved into sole possession of first place in the Big Sky Conference by beating Portland State 85-72 on Saturday night.
Emmanuel Addo matched a career high with 14 points for the Bears (13-9, 9-2), who led by 27 points in the second half. Tate Unruh added 13 points.
Northern Colorado had been tied atop the Big Sky with Montana, but Northern Arizona beat the Grizzlies 70-53 on Saturday.
Phillip Thomas led Portland State (11-12, 4-7) with 13 points. Charles Odum and Dane Johnson had 12 points each for the Vikings, who are 1-9 away from home and have lost four of their last five games.
Portland State had 15 turnovers, which Northern Colorado turned into 29 points.
Northern Colorado won 79-66 at Portland State on Dec. 29.
Neal Kingman’s 3-pointer gave the Bears their biggest lead, 63-36.
Northern Colorado appeared to have the game under control when Addo made two free throws to make it 77-56. But Portland State went on a 16-2 run to get it to 78-72, the last two points coming on free throws by Odum with 1:53 remaining.
But the Bears finished with a 7-0 run.
