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MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho Vandals begin a five-game home stand on Thursday, January 14, when they welcome the Northern Colorado Bears to Memorial Gym at 6 p.m. The two teams will meet again on Saturday, January 16, with tipoff set for noon.

FOLLOW: Fans can follow the Vandals all season long on Twitter and Instagram, @VandalHoops, and with the Voice of the Vandals, Chris King, at GoVandals.com/Listen. The game can be streamed on PlutoTV.

SCOUTING THE BEARS (5-6, 2-4 BSC): UNCO was 3-2 in nonconference play, defeating Colorado Christian, Regis, and Denver, while falling to Colorado and Utah State. The Bears have recorded wins against Idaho State and Montana in Big Sky play. 

As a team, Northern Colorado is scoring 66.5 ppg while allowing 67.9 ppg. Bodie Hume leads the squad in scoring and rebounding, recording 16.2 ppg and 7.5 rpg. Daylen Kountz (11.9 ppg) and Matt Johnson (10.5 ppg) also average double figure scoring.

Most recently, the Bears fell in a pair of games to Montana State. The Bobcats took the first game, 79-67. Johnson led the way for UNCO with 20 points, while Hume had a double-double, tallying 11 points and 11 boards. In Saturday's rematch, MSU edged Northern Colorado, 76-74. Johnson again led the Bears in points, scoring 21.

SCOUTING THE VANDALS (0-9, 0-6 BSC): The Vandals average 63.0 ppg, allowing 77.2 ppg. Scott Blakney leads Idaho with 11.2 ppg, while Damen Thacker (11.0 ppg) and Gabe Quinnett (10.1 ppg) also average in double figures. Tanner Christensen pulls down 4.1 rpg to lead the team.

LAST TIME OUT: The Vandals fell to Southern Utah, 83-67. Damen Thacker led Idaho in scoring, recording 16 points. Ethan Kilgore chipped in a career-high 10 points.

SERIES HISTORY: Idaho and Northern Colorado have played each other 10 times in their history, with the Bears leading the all-time series, 6-4.

STEADY SENIOR
Senior Scott Blakney is leading the team in scoring, averaging 11.2 points per game. He scored a career-high 23 points against NAU (Jan. 2). He scored 12 points in each of the first three games of the season. Blakney has scored in double figures in five of the nine games this year. Overall, the senior is shooting 62.7 percent from the floor.

GET TO WORK
Transfer DeAndre Robinson has immediately made a difference as a Vandal. He is second on the squad in rebounding (4.0 rpg) while scoring 8.1 ppg, which is fourth on the team. The junior is shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from beyond the arc. He is also a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

ALWAYS THERE
Gabe Quinnett leads the Vandals and is sixth in the league in minutes played with 32.4 minutes per game. The sophomore is third on the team scoring 10.1 points per game.

NEW HIGHS
Damen Thacker set a new career-high in points against SUU (Jan. 7). He led the team with 27 points, going 11-for-11 from the free throw line.

Scott Blakney and Gabe Quinnett both set new career-highs for points in the overtime loss to NAU (Jan. 2).

Blakney scored 23 points to lead the team. He also tallied a team-high five rebounds.

Quinnett scored 18 points, going 6-for-10 from the field and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.

DISH IT
Ja'Vary Christmas had a career-high six assists against SUU (Jan. 7). The senior is currently averaging 2.7 assists per game which is 10th in the Big Sky.

Damen Thacker recorded six assists against NAU (Jan. 2). The total was a new career-high. He is averaging 2.6 assists per game.

HOME SWEET HOME
Thursday's game against Northern Colorado marks the beginning of a five-game homestand for the Vandals. Idaho will play two against the Bears before welcoming Weber State for a pair of games following a bye week. The homestand will conclude on February 4 when Eastern Washington comes to Memorial Gym for one game, before the Vandals head to Cheney for the rematch on February 6.

SIGNED
Two players have signed to join the Vandals next season. RJ Walker is from Decatur, Ill. He is a guard who averaged 17 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.5 spg, and 3.2 apg his junior season. Yusef Salih, from Richmond, Va., averaged 14.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, and 2.3 steals per game in 2019-20. He was named First Team All-Conference.

Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho men's basketball by following the team on twitter and Instagram, @VandalHoops.

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.