GREELEY, Colo. – A late push helped force overtime, but the Idaho men (4-11, 1-3 BSC) eventually fell at Northern Colorado (9-5, 4-0 BSC), 83-79 on Saturday afternoon.
 
THE GAME
 
Idaho got out to a fast start and led by as many as nine in the first half.  UNC's Jordan Davis knocked down a 3-pointer late in the half to cut the Idaho advantage to 41-35 at the break.
 
The second half went back-and-forth throughout.  The Bears got up, 70-65 at the final media timeout and looked to close things out at the line.  The Vandals kept fighting, however, and were able to make it a one-point game after a layup from Scott Blakney with two minutes to play.  Neither team was able to get much going the rest of the way, with UNC cashing in on one free throw with 18 seconds left.  Trevon Allen got a full head of steam going the other way and tied things up at 71.  Jared Rodriguez got a steal on the other end but was forced into a very difficult shot at the buzzer that went begging.
 
Allen and the Bears traded buckets early in the overtime frame.  The Bears got up, 82-79, with 16 seconds to play, giving Idaho one more chance to tie.  The Vandals opted to go for two and lengthen the game, but couldn't get the inside shots to fall.  UNC would add one more free throw and take the 83-79 overtime win.
 
Rodriguez led the Vandals with 20 points and 11 rebounds, recording his second double-double of the season.  Idaho shot 49.4 percent (30-of-61) from the floor and 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from beyond the arc.  UNC won the rebound battle, 40-39.
 
THE NAME
 
Trevon Allen.  Allen took some time to get going, but when he did he was on fire.  Allen had just seven points in regulation, but doubled up with seven more in the overtime.  Allen also added three assists to go along with seven boards.
 
THE NOTES
 
Idaho falls to 4-11, including a 1-3 mark in Big Sky play.
 
Rodriguez recorded his second double-double of the year.  He also scored a career-best 20 points and tied his career high with 11 rebounds.
 
The Vandals shot better than 50 percent from beyond the arc for the third consecutive game.
 
THE QUOTES – Don Verlin
 
"Man, fourth game in eight days.  The reason why it hurts so bad is because we played so hard.  That's the hardest we've played for an extended period of time.  We had some lapses, but we did a lot of really, really good things.  I was really happy with how hard we played.  And really disappointed that we lost.
 
"I thought we had a number of guys step up.  I thought we did a really nice job of slowing them down and breaking their rhythm.  We did a good on Davis for a long period of time, and then they isolated us there and he got some baskets toward the end of regulation."
 
The Vandals return home to take on Montana State at 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 10.  Check back with GoVandals.com this week for more information on the matchup.
 
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho men's basketball by following the team on twitter, @VandalHoops.  Ticket packages are on sale at GoVandals.com/Tickets.

For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com.  Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.