Isaiah Hawthorne scored 23 points as Northern Colorado beat Portland State 72-69 on Thursday night. Hawthorne also contributed seven rebounds for the Bears (13-5, 5-0 Big Sky Conference). Brock Wisne shot 6 of 10 from the field and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line to add 15 points.

Northern Colorado will try to keep its three-game home win streak intact when the Bears face Portland State. The Bears are 7-1 on their home court. Northern Colorado is second in the Big Sky with 24.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Isaiah Hawthorne averaging 4.