“Dishing dimes, draining 3s, baskets all the way. Oh what fun it is to shoot the lights out everyday,” the University of Northern Colorado men’s basketball players sang in their holiday promotional video.
That was especially true on Tuesday.
UNC (7-7, 2-0 Big Sky) rang in the holiday week with a 90-54 win over Northern New Mexico College (5-2), snapping a two game losing streak.
The team fell at Arizona and at Washington State last week in tough losses and remained without guards Dalton Knecht and Daylen Kountz. Kountz is the leading scorer in the Big Sky and one of the best in the nation, while Knecht plays the third most minutes and provides roughly nine points and four rebounds per game.
Even with NNM being an NAIA team, UNC coach Steve Smiley was unsure how things would go. The Eagles played tough against a few Division I and Division II teams.
“Going into this game, I was nervous about it. We told our guys, ‘We’re not at full strength, so guys have to step up, and as a program, we have to be on edge,’” Smiley said. “We always tell our guys it’s not who you play or where you play, it’s how you play, so we’ve got to be locked into how we’re playing. It’s all about habits and trying to build. I thought our guys did a good job respecting that.”
A big number that stands out during the game is the 20 made 3-pointers (46.5%), the most made in a single game this season. The previous record was 18 against Colorado State. UNC was also just three off the program record for most deep balls made in a single game.
Led by graduate guard Dru Kuxhausen with five, all seven Bears to make a bucket from range hit more than one.
It was certainly impressive, but Smiley said thatap not even what he’s most proud of. Instead, the team mostly stayed out of foul trouble, it wasn’t sloppy and it moved the ball well. Thatap why it developed a 31-point lead in the first half and was able to maintain that in the second, even when Northern New Mexico began to find the hole.
“Everyone talks about ‘Oh, yeah, you know, we made 11 threes (in the first half),’” Smiley said. “That’s cool, but it’s all that other stuff, especially on the defensive end where we’ve got to get better. I thought we did a good job of that.”
Northern Colorado finished with a 47-28 rebounding advantage over the Eagles and recorded 19 assists to NNM’s five.
Not only was the number of triples impressive, the Bears picked up their commanding win with a number of young guys.
True freshmen guards Zach Bloch and Trent Hudgens played more minutes than veterans Bodie Hume, Matt Johnson, Kur Jongkuch and Kuxhausen. Sophomore Bryce Kennedy stepped into a starting role, playing a team-leading 28 minutes.
Johnson and Kuxhausen led the team with 15 points each, but nine Bears recorded points. All but one of the scorers had eight points or more. Bloch scored 11 points, while Kennedy had 10 points and four boards.
Hudgens was second in rebounding with seven, following only Jongkuch — one of the best posts in the Big Sky.
“I think that our guys have done a good job being mature about that,” Smiley said of his need to pull from the bench. “And, I don’t feel like we had a huge drop off with two really good players not able to play tonight.”
Bloch and Kennedy said the win felt like a reset for the team as it goes into its brief holiday break.
It was able to bounce back and numerous guys were able to see what they can bring to the program, which Smiley said they can sometimes doubt when they’re not getting in games very much.
“I think this gives us a lot of confidence and gives coach a lot of confidence that he can put anybody into the game and we’re gonna step in and fill those shoes,” Bloch said.
Additionally, the extra playing time allowed them to work through some growing pains, learn what the officiating staff will call and develop stronger communication with each other. Kennedy thinks the game provided the younger players with valuable experience that they can take into Big Sky play, even if they go back to the bench for the majority of the season.
Itap unclear exactly how long Kountz and Knecht will be out — Smiley said the prognosis is good — but UNC has depth and it has young players who aren’t afraid to step in.
“You always want to be healthy, but if you always stay healthy, sometimes those guys don’t get the opportunity (to gain that confidence),” Smiley said.
UNC will return to the floor at 7 p.m. New Year’s Day when the Bears play Southern Utah on the road. The game is expected to be broadcast on ESPN+. Northern Colorado’s next home game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Jan. 8.
