RAPID CITY, S.D. – Northern Colorado shot 48% from the floor and was solid defensively as the Bears defeated South Dakota State, 78-69, in The Monument’s Summit Arena on Thursday in front of 4,887 spectators.
The Jackrabbits and Bears had a tight opening five minutes of action as the two sides were tied at 14. Northern Colorado’s Zach Bloch drained consecutive 3-pointers to propel the Bears ahead 20-14. They wouldn’t trail again.
South Dakota State went on a seven-point scoring run to cut the deficit to 25-23 with 9 minutes, 33 seconds left in the opening half. Northern Colorado responded with six straight points and eventually went into the halftime break up 43-33.
SDSU’s Oscar Cluff made a dunk to begin the second half to make it an eight-point game. Bloch followed with a 3-pointer at the 19:16 mark and the Bears wouldn’t allow the margin to dip back into single digits until play was under a minute remaining.
Northern Colorado finished the night with a 48-32% shooting edge. The Bears were 31% from 3 while limiting the Jackrabbits to a 5-for-27 (18.2%) clip.
The Bears were paced by Isaiah Hawthorne’s 21 points. Langston Reynolds scored 16 points and Bloch finished with 15. Northern Colorado turned the ball over just six times.
Oscar Cluff led the Jackrabbits with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Joe Sayler followed with 10 points, but was held to 3-for-11 shooting. Matthew Mors and Kalen Garry had nine points apiece, while Stoney Hadnot added nine points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Northern Colorado improved to 3-1 overall on the season while South Dakota State dropped to 2-1.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits return to Brookings for their next two contests. SDSU hosts Mount Marty at 7 p.m. on Monday inside First Bank & Trust Arena. The Jacks then host Southern Miss at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.