PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Devon Beitzel scored 26 points to lead Northern Colorado to a 79-66 victory over Portland State in a Big Sky opener Wednesday night.
Neal Kingman added 14 points for the Bears (5-7), who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Charles Odum led the Vikings (7-6) with 16 points, while Chehales Tapscott and Chris Harriel each scored 15.
Northern Colorado never trailed. The Bears opened an early 17-8 lead thanks to a 9-2 run capped by Paul Garnica’s layup barely seven minutes into the game.
The Bears, who led by 22 points in the second half, put the game away when Beitzel was intentionally fouled on a fast break, converted the basket and hit both free throws with 14:02 left to make it 58-38.
