The Colorado College men's basketball team took on the University of Northern Colorado in an exhibition matchup in Greeley on Monday night. The Tigers were led by senior
Asher Nofziger's 14 points but fell 91-57.
"I was really proud of our effort tonight," head coach
Jeff Conarroe said. "Northern Colorado has been practicing since early summer, and we are only a couple of weeks in. I thought we were toe-to-toe until we ran out of gas. That said, we have a lot of work ahead of us. We had too many lulls, didn't play hard for 40 minutes and also didn't rebound the ball to our standards."
Nofziger, an All-SCAC selection from last season, was three rebounds shy of a double-double and finished shooting 50 percent from the floor and two assists in 26 minutes.
Senior
Russell MacFarlane made his return to the hardwood after missing his junior season due to injury. The Seattle native finished with nine points, six rebounds, one block and one steal.
CC shot 42 percent from the floor in the first half. Nofziger led CC with 10 points from 5-9 from the floor by the halftime break.
MacFarlane scored the opening bucket with a layup 38 seconds into the game. Senior
Orion Samikoglu scored his first points with a jumper on the ensuing possession after UNC made a three-pointer.
Both teams traded buckets in the opening five minutes, and the game was tied 10-10 with 14:13 remaining in the first half. CC took an 11-10 lead with 12:07 remaining after a
Ty Hendler free-throw. The Bears regained control of the score with 10 minutes left and increased their advantage to as many as 12 with 5:20 left, but a three-pointer from Noach Deitch and an Nofziger jumper clipped the lead down to five.
UNC went on a run before the end of the half and led 42-28 at the break.
In the second, CC shot 39.39 percent from the floor and was paced by junior
Gavin Carter's seven points.
Carter finished with a rebound, one assist and two blocks.
The Bears shot 60 percent in the second half and ultimately won 91-57. CC will open up the regular season this Friday against D2 foe Western Colorado at Reid Arena at 7:30 p.m.
"I'm pleased with where we are at, but excited to get back to work," Conarroe said. "This is a fun team to coach and should be an exciting team to watch in Reid Arena."
