Northern Colorado men’s basketball drops close game at San Diego to end road trip
A Riley Abercrombie 3-pointer went off the backboard as the clock expired, and host University of San Diego men’s basketball held on for a 74-72 win over Northern Colorado in a nonconference game Wednesday at Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego.
The Toreros led by two points with four seconds when Abercrombie grabbed a defensive rebound after San Diego’s Wayne McKinney III missed two free throws.
San Diego, 6-2 and a member of the West Coast Conference, led by 10 points a couple of times late in the second half. UNC cut the lead to two, 66-64 with a 9-2 run capped by an Abercrombie 3-pointer.
The loss was UNC’s third in four games dating to Nov. 18 when the Bears (3-4) began their first big road trip of the season playing games as part of the Cancun Challenge. UNC has lost four of its last five games including an 83-64 loss Nov. 14 at home to Colorado State.
McKinney made a couple of free throws with 10 seconds to play to push San Diego’s lead to five. UNC’s Jaron Rillie hit a 3 in transition with five seconds to play before McKinney’s misses at the line set up Abercrombie’s shot after the rebound.
“I thought our guys competed hard,” UNC coach Steve Smiley said in a news release. “We just made too many little mistakes that added up over the course of the game, coupled with a shooting night that was not great for us (38.5% from the field). We must quickly find a way to tighten down on some details to make a jump forward.”
Abercrombie scored a season-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Brock Wisne had 15 points and eight rebounds. Rillie scored 11 points. Dejour Reaves and Saint Thomas, who lead the Bears in scoring this season with 15 points per game, both scored nine points. Thomas had six assists.
San Diego freshmen Kevin Patton Jr. and Jimmy Oladokun Jr. combined for 31 points and 16 rebounds. Patton Jr. scored a career-best 17 points and he grabbed six rebounds. Oladokun Jr. had his first collegiate double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bears host California State University Northridge at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bank of Colorado Arena. The game will be UNC’s first at home since the loss to Colorado State.
