GREELEY, Colo. – Eastern Washington (10-17, 6-8) suffered a 95-76 loss to Northern Colorado (20-8, 12-3).
Andrew Cook led the Eagles with 21 points, while
Mason Williams and
Sebastian Hartmann each contributed 13. Defensively,
Emmett Marquardt,
Vice Zanki, and Hartmann each grabbed three rebounds.
"Northern Colorado is the best offensive team in the league and today we were the worst defensive team," said head coach
Dan Monson. "We could just never get a grip on them on the offensive end, they dictated their shots."
The Eagles shot 45.9% from the field, while Northern Colorado was hot, shooting 66.7%. The Bears also dominated the boards, out-rebounding Eastern 32-22, and tallied 14 assists compared to just eight for the Eagles.
"We were giving them easy shots on the other end and they really made us work for our baskets. We have a small margin for errors and these last four or five games we have done a good job of maximizing what we can do and today we got out of it."
First Half:
Northern Colorado started strong, sinking multiple three-pointers early. Cook responded with a deep three-pointer of his own, assisted by
Sam Stockton. However, UNC quickly regained momentum, extending their lead with a series of threes. After hitting a technical foul free throw and their third three-pointer of the game, the Bears led by six points early on.
The Bears kept the pressure on, using back-to-back threes to extend their advantage to 21-9, prompting an Eagles timeout with 12:50 remaining in the half. Northern Colorado's offense was relentless, pushing the lead to 28-11 with a fast-break dunk, as the Eagles struggled to keep pace.
Hartmann sparked a mini-run for Eastern, hitting a three and drawing a flagrant foul that resulted in two free throws. He later made a contested layup, bringing the lead down to 10. Cook's floater brought the Eagles within single digits at 39-31 with 4:30 left. However, UNC responded with another three, leading 39-26 at the final timeout of the half. Williams converted a three-point play, but the Bears took a 47-33 lead into halftime.
Second Half:
Williams opened the second half for the Eagles with a free throw following a technical foul on UNC after the halftime buzzer. Hartmann added a layup to reach double-digit scoring. Eastern continued to battle, with Williams hitting a three after a media timeout, but UNC answered right back with a three of their own.
For the majority of the second half, the Eagles remained within 13 points, but a scoring drought allowed Northern Colorado to push their lead. After a Cook foul, the Bears made all three free throws to extend the lead to 20. Eastern managed to break the drought with a layup from
Angelo Winkel, but Northern Colorado continued to dominate, eclipsing 90 points with 5:40 left in the game.
Elijah Thomas hit a late three-pointer, but it wasn't enough as the Bears sealed the 95-76 victory.
Up Next:
The Eagles will travel to Flagstaff, Arizona, to face Northern Arizona on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m. PST.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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