The UNC Bears men’s basketball team won its sixth straight game in the Big Sky Conference on Saturday afternoon and it was a tough one.
UNC beat conference-leading Portland State 77-65 Saturday afternoon at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley.
The Bears, now 7-7 in the Big Sky and 17-10 overall, grabbed the lead in the first half, came up with an early run in the second while managing their own foul trouble, Portland State’s hot-shooting guard Jaylin Henderson and the Vikings’ big men.
“Process over the result,” UNC forward Brock Wisne said. “I think that it’s just so much better when we just focus on us, and just focus on each play and each moment.”
The win allowed the Bears a sweep in the weekend home stand, beating Sacramento State on Thursday night before the quick turnaround for the Saturday afternoon tip against Portland State (17-7, 12-2). The Vikings came into the day on a four-game winning streak, second in the conference to UNC.
UNC has a week off from games with four to play on the regular-season schedule. The team’s next opponent is Northern Arizona on Feb. 21 for senior day.
A week break from games is a good thing for the Bears. Saturday’s game against Portland State was a physical game. The teams combined for 41 total personal fouls, and UNC had their hands full with 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward Terri Miller Jr. and 6-10, 245-pound center Tre-Vaughn Minott. Miller Jr. came into the game as the Big Sky leading scorer with 19.8 points per game.
Henderson finished with a game-high 29 points with 18 in the first half. Miller had 18 before fouling out late. He picked up a technical foul with under four minutes to play. Bears guard Quinn Denker made three of four at the line for a 10-point lead.
UNC’s defense buckled down, especially in the second half, and held the Portland State scoring to five players. Henderson and Miller were only guys in double figures.
“We’re trending in the right direction, playing well,” UNC coach Steve Smiley said. “Going back to when we were not playing well, we were losing close games. Our guys have stayed the course day after day.”
Denker, who led the Bears with 23 points, said the team made some adjustments from the first half to the second to be more effective against the bigger Portland State players.
PHOTOS: UNC Bears men’s basketball defeat the Portland State Vikings 77-65
“We were able to capitalize on our speed and athleticism,” said Denker, who added seven assists. “Just because they’ve got big size and they’re playing a lot of big dudes, they also got to guard us. Their defensive scheme funnels everything toward the rim. When you’re a team that’s so predicated on getting to the paint and scoring in the paint, and you’re having to finish over these tall players, it can cause some trouble.
Denker finished the weekend with 45 points and 23 assists. He had a season-best 16 assists Thursday night against Sacramento. He’s UNC’s leading scorer and among the top 5 in the Big Sky.
“Honestly, I have really good teammates,” Denker said of the 23 assists in two games. “We really understand spacing. We really understand how to play off of actions. I’m just throwing the ball to my teammates and they make shots.”
Five UNC players scored in double figures against Portland State. The Vikings clipped UNC for a close win in the teams’ first meeting of the season last month. Portland State Vikings guard Keyon Kensie Jr. (0) attempts to block Northern Colorado Bears forward Ibu Yamazaki (54) during a Big Sky Conference basketball game between the Northern Colorado Bears and the Portland State Vikings at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)
Center Egan Shields came off the bench for 12 points with 8 of 10 shooting from the foul line. Wisne had a double-double for the second time in two games with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Forwards Ring Nyeri and Ibu Yamazaki both scored 10 points while battling foul trouble. Yamazaki fouled out late in the second half. He hit two 3-pointers in the run early in the half to give UNC some distance on the score board.
Nyeri came in and out of the game late to manage his four fouls. Shields also had four and Denker and guard Zach Bloch (9 points on three 3s) each had three fouls.
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