Big Sky Tournament 1st Round: Northern Colorado outlasts Montana State, 69-56

The Northern Colorado Bears used hot shooting in the second half to defeat the Montana State Bobcats, 69-56, in the first round of the Big Sky tournament in Montana on Thursday night.

With the upset by seed only (both teams were 10-10 in conference play), Montana State won't get one more in-state battle with Montana, allowing the Bears to shoot 59% in the second half. The Bobcats led the game by two at halftime, but couldn't find the net as Northern Colorado ran away with the game in the second half despite committing ten turnovers in the frame.

Tate Unruh led all scorers with 21 points for the Bears, who improved to 13-17 on the season. Tim Huskisson and Tevin Svihovec added 14 and 12 respectively.

Christian Moon finished his career at Montana State with 15 points, as the Bobcats finish their 2012-13 campaign with a record of 13-17. Paul Egwuonwu pitched in 11 points and eight rebounds.

Northern Colorado advances to face tournament one-seed Montana on Friday at 8 p.m. MT. The Bears went 0-2 against Montana this season, losing by eight at home and by ten in Missoula.

The Big Sky tournament resumes tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. MT when Weber State plays North Dakota, followed by the Montana-Northern Colorado night cap.