Feb. 12, 2008

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery 

GREELEY, Colo. - The University of Northern Colorado men's basketball team had as many offensive rebounds as Johnson+Wales had in the game leading the Bears to the 84-65 victory Tuesday evening in Butler-Hancock.

The Bears tallied 46 rebounds, 22 on the offensive end of the floor and held the Wildcats to 22 overall with just five offensive - and none in the first half.

The Bears were led in scoring by senior guard Sean Taibi with 17 points, while freshman forward Neal Kingman chipped in 13 and junior forward Jabril Banks notched double figures for the seventh straight game with 12 points. Junior guard Robert Palacios led the game with 11 rebounds, while freshman guard Monice Garrett tallied a career best six assists.

The Wildcats were led by Andrew Baker with 15 points and six rebounds, and he had all of the team's five offensive boards. Eric Daniels scored 12 and had a team-best three assists, while Sasha Pate and M.J. Crespin each scored 11.

"We have a tendency to play to the level of our competition," said Head Coach Tad Boyle. "Whether that's up or down, so I'm very proud of how the team responded in the second half."

The Bears shot just .381 in the first half and .182 from beyond the arc (2-11) but came out after the break to shoot .586 from the field and .429 from the three-point line to tally .465 for the game from the floor and .278 from the arc. NC also shot .813 from the charity stripe with Banks hitting all eight of his attempts.

Johnson+Wales shot .511 for the game and .467 from beyond the arc, but hit just half of its free throw attempts. The Wildcats also had 23 turnovers.

Northern Colorado now has an eight day break from action before returning to the court against Portland State on Wed., Feb. 20. The game at Butler-Hancock is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.