N. Colorado holds off Eastern

| February 4, 2011 8:00 PM

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) - Devon Beitzel scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half as Northern Colorado (12-9, 8-2) moved into a first-place tie with Montana in the Big Sky Conference by beating Eastern Washington 63-53 Thursday night.

Beitzel played despite a five-stitch cut on the side of his head he received from a car accident earlier in the day.

Cliff Colimon led Eastern Washington (7-15, 4-6) with 17 points. Kevin Winford had 15 for the Eagles, 0-12 away from home and losers of 18 consecutive road games over two seasons. The Eagles haven't won on the road win since Jan. 10, 2010, when they beat Montana State 75-73.

Eastern Washington plays at Idaho State on Saturday.

E. WASHINGTON (7-15)

Griffin 2-4 0-2 4, Ederaine 3-4 2-2 8, Dean 1-8 0-0 3, Colimon 6-12 0-0 17, Winford 5-16 2-3 15, Brown 1-3 0-0 2, McRae 1-1 0-0 2, Johnson 0-4 0-0 0, Forbes 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 20-56 4-7 53.

N. COLORADO (12-9)

Addo 3-5 2-3 8, Montgomery 1-3 4-4 6, Lloyd 1-6 0-0 3, Unruh 0-1 0-0 0, Beitzel 5-12 14-17 27, Garnica 2-4 3-3 7, Kaba 2-8 1-2 6, Kingman 1-3 4-4 6, Proctor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-43 28-33 63.

Halftime_E. Washington 28-20. 3-Point Goals_E. Washington 9-31 (Colimon 5-11, Winford 3-12, Dean 1-4, Johnson 0-2, Forbes 0-2), N. Colorado 5-20 (Beitzel 3-8, Kaba 1-4, Lloyd 1-4, Garnica 0-2, Kingman 0-2). Fouled Out_Ederaine, Winford. Rebounds_E. Washington 27 (Griffin 5), N. Colorado 38 (Montgomery 6). Assists_E. Washington 12 (Forbes 6), N. Colorado 10 (Garnica 5). Total Fouls_E. Washington 26, N. Colorado 14. A_1,556.