Northern Colorado Bears at Colorado Buffaloes
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Denker scores career-high 33 points to lead Northern Colorado to stunning 86-81 win over Colorado
Ibu Yamazaki scored 19 points and Brock Wisne scored 13 for Northern Colorado.
Reserve true freshman Isaiah Johnson scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half, Barrington Hargress scored 18 points, Bangot Dak 16 and Sebastian Rancik 14 for Colorado.
Yamazaki made a pair of foul shots with 23 seconds left to give Northern Colorado an 84-81 lead. On the Buffs next possession, Rancik missed a 3-point attempt, and after securing the offensive rebound, Johnson also missed a 3 attempt to tie it.
Denker made two foul shots with nine seconds left to seal it. His short turnaround with 42 seconds gave the Bears the lead for good at 82-80.
Northern Colorado built a 17-7 lead when Denker made a jump shot with 12:36 left before halftime. Johnson countered with consecutive layups and added a three-point play following a layup from Hargress to get Colorado within 19-18.
Neither team led by more than four points from there and Northern Colorado led 37-35 at intermission.
With the win, the Bears (10-3) snapped a 13-game losing streak against Colorado (10-3) which leads the all-time series (25-19) dating to Jan. 25, 1918.
The Buffs fell to 0-2 against state rivals. Colorado State beat Colorado 91-86 in Fort Collins on Dec. 6.
The Buffs start Big 12 Conference play on Saturday at Arizona State.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 86 - 81 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 86 - 81 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Northern Colorado Defensive Rebound. | 86 - 81 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Isaiah Johnson misses 24-foot three point jumper | 86 - 81 |
| 2nd 0:09 | Quinn Denker makes free throw 2 of 2 | 86 - 81 |
Statistics
 UNCO |
 COLO |
|
|---|---|---|
| 31-59 | FG | 30-76 |
| 53 | Field Goal % | 39 |
| 11-21 | 3PT | 7-23 |
| 52 | Three Point % | 30 |
| 13-17 | FT | 14-15 |
| 76 | Free Throw % | 93 |
| 39 | Rebounds | 37 |
| 7 | Offensive Rebounds | 15 |
| 32 | Defensive Rebounds | 22 |
| 17 | Assists | 11 |
| 2 | Steals | 5 |
| 0 | Blocks | 4 |
| 13 | Turnovers | 5 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 13 | Total Turnovers | 5 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 5 | Points Off Turnovers | 16 |
| 11 | Fast Break Points | 17 |
| 36 | Points in Paint | 44 |
| 12 | Fouls | 14 |
| 10 | Largest Lead | 6 |
| 7 | Lead Changes | 7 |
| 57 | Percent Led | 15 |
Game Information
Location: Boulder, CO
Attendance: 8,347 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big Sky Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland State | 3-0 | - | 9-5 |
| Montana | 3-1 | 0.5 | 9-8 |
| Montana State | 3-1 | 0.5 | 9-8 |
| Weber State | 3-1 | 0.5 | 9-8 |
| Idaho | 2-1 | 1 | 10-6 |
| Idaho State | 2-2 | 1.5 | 9-8 |
| Eastern Washington | 1-2 | 2 | 3-13 |
| Northern Colorado | 1-3 | 2.5 | 11-6 |
| Sacramento State | 0-3 | 3 | 4-11 |
| Northern Arizona | 0-4 | 3.5 | 6-11 |
2025-26 Big 12 Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 4-0 | - | 17-0 |
| BYU | 4-0 | - | 16-1 |
| Houston | 4-0 | - | 16-1 |
| Iowa State | 3-1 | 1 | 16-1 |
| UCF | 3-1 | 1 | 14-2 |
| Texas Tech | 3-1 | 1 | 13-4 |
| Colorado | 2-2 | 2 | 12-5 |
| Kansas | 2-2 | 2 | 12-5 |
| West Virginia | 2-2 | 2 | 11-6 |
| Oklahoma State | 1-3 | 3 | 13-4 |
| Baylor | 1-3 | 3 | 11-5 |
| TCU | 1-3 | 3 | 11-6 |
| Arizona State | 1-3 | 3 | 10-7 |
| Cincinnati | 1-3 | 3 | 9-8 |
| Kansas State | 0-4 | 4 | 9-8 |
| Utah | 0-4 | 4 | 8-9 |