Northern Colorado Bears Defeat Rival Colorado State Rams 73-64

The Northern Colorado Bears ended a five-game losing streak by defeating their in-state rivals, the Colorado State Rams, 73-64 at home in their very own Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colo., on Sunday night. This game marked the Bears’ third victory over the Rams in the last 17 meetings.

A struggling UNC defense held the Rams to just 38.6% (22-of-57) on Sunday night. The Bears also out-rebounded CSU, who ranks 26^th in the NCAA in rebounding, 41-34, which limited their second chance points to just nine. “That’s our goal – that’s a pretty lofty number, our goal every game is to hold opponents to 39.0% shooting and we haven’t come close to it yet this year,” head coach B.J. Hill said about his team’s not-so-lofty defensive performance.

Jordan Wilson scored 11 of his 20 points in the last seven minutes, and also had a three-pointer bounce in to further the Bears’ lead to 59-53 with 6:03 left. Less than two minutes later, he hit a pullback jumper with 3:08 left for a 63-57 lead.  Gian Clavell then spun in the lane and scored a layup to put Colorado State up 64-61 with just 1:40 remaining. However, Wilson answered with a runner in the lane and later scored two free-throws for a five-point game with one minute left.

Clavell led the Rams (6-4) with 18 points. The Bears will next host the University of Denver on Wednesday night, while the Rams Colorado State will visit Kansas State on Saturday.

PHOTO: LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 13: John Gillon #4 of the Colorado State Rams drives against the San Diego State Aztecs during a semifinal game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 13, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)