GAME NOTES: The Northern Colorado Bears head out for their first road game of the 2014-15 season on Sunday, as they clash with the Wyoming Cowboys in non- conference play at Arena Auditorium.

The Bears, members of the Big Sky Conference, opened their 2014-15 campaign on Friday by dominating Black Hills State in an 83-62 decision at home. Following this outing, UNC will again be on the road in the middle of next week as they clash with the New Mexico State Aggies in Las Cruces.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys are a little behind the times as they are just getting their season off the ground. Head coach Larry Shyatt, now in his fifth season in Laramie, is coming off a 2013-14 campaign in which he saw his squad post an 18-15 record overall and a tie for fifth place in the Mountain West Conference standings at 9-9. The Pokes took part in the postseason, making it to the CBI quarterfinals before being sent packing.

These two teams are quite familiar with each other, with their first meeting taking place more than a century ago. Wyoming is ahead in the all-time series by a count of 53-19, taking 32 wins in 39 chances at home over the years.

Against Black Hills State, the Bears shot 51.7 percent from the floor, but just 4-of-14 behind the 3-point line, but still played well enough to cruise to the comfortable victory at Bank of Colorado Arena. Tevin Svihovec scored a game-high 17 points, shooting 5-of-8 from the floor and a perfect 6-of-6 at the free-throw line, not to mention handing out five assists. Cameron Michael accounted for 13 points and Cody McDavis 11, to go with a team-high seven rebounds in 19 minutes of action.

Northern Colorado, which led by as many as 24 in the opener, turned the ball over just six times and managed to record 21 points off miscues by the visitors.

The fortunes of the Cowboys lie in the return of senior forward Larry Nance Jr., after he went down with a season-ending ACL injury on Feb. 18 versus Fresno State. At the time of the injury, Nance led the Pokes in both scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg). A definitive presence on the inside, Nance also accounted for 55 of his team's 124 blocked shots over the course of 33 games.

The Pokes also bring back returning starters Josh Adams, Derek Cooke Jr. and Riley Grabau. Grabau averaged 10.1 ppg last season and knocked down 42.0 percent of his 3-point tries. Cooke (6.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg) has teamed with Nance to form one of the stronger front courts in the Mountain West. Adams (12.7 ppg) was first in the passing department with 92 assists, but when he is not helping out teammates he is taking a few too many shots out on the perimeter where he was just 31.3 percent accurate in 2013-14.

The Bears made it look easy against Black Hills State, but you have to keep in mind the level of competition was not quite what UNC will see on Sunday. Being on the road certainly won't help the cause for the Bears, so expect to see a Wyoming win.