PALO ALTO, Calif. – For the second time this season, the Northern Arizona men's basketball team challenged a Pac-10 team on the road before falling back in the final 10 minutes of the contest Wednesday night against Stanford 66-57 at Maples Pavilion. Stanford remained undefeated on the season at 6-0, while NAU dropped to 3-6 on the season after entering with two consecutive wins.

“I was proud of our guys,” said Head Coach Mike Adras. “I thought we played some defense and stuck with our game plan and cut it to three. They made some quick plays. We completed well and this is a very good Stanford team that has some physical talent that was tough for us to match up with.”

Senior forward Zarko Comagic tied his career-high with a game-high 19 points, equaling his performance at Portland State last season. He reset his career-high for rebounds on Sunday with his first career double-double against Northern New Mexico, completing a two-game stretch with 34 points.

Sophomore Shane Johannsen added a career-high 14 points, including eight in the first half, with seven rebounds. Josh Wilson added seven points and four assists, while Matt Johnson had six points and seven rebounds.

“We knew going in they were going to defend our perimeter,” said Adras. “Both Zarko and Shane played outstanding for us. They really competed well.”

NAU struggled beyond the arc, shooting just 2-of-15 on the night. But shot 42.3 percent from the field for the game. The Lumberjacks had 19 turnovers with only six in the second half during the comeback effort.

NAU cut the lead to 44-41 with a 14-0 run early in the second half highlighted by a Comagic dunk off a steal on the Stanford end. Wilson added a driving layup and Comagic converted a short jumper. Two possessions later, Comagic grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a three-point play.

Stanford responded with a 13-0 run started with a three-pointer by Landry Fields that extended the lead back to double digits at 57-41. But the Lumberjacks failed to give up, going on a 13-6 run in the final minutes to pull within nine points. After two missed free throws by Stanford, Matt Johnson hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 63-57 with 38 seconds left.
Stanford closed the game with three free throws as the Lumberjacks failed to get any closer in the contest.

“We are moving in the right direction and hopefully we are getting close for a road break through,” said Adras.

Fields, who is a cousin of NAU's Cameron Jones, had a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds for Stanford.

The Lumberjacks led early before the Cardinal went on a 13-0 run to take a 23-11 lead midway in the first half. Johannsen scored eight of NAU's first 13 points in the game before picking up his second foul, sitting the final seven minutes of the half. Comagic added eight points in the first 20 minutes.

NAU shot 45 percent in the first half but made just one three-pointer and committed 13 turnovers.

NAU continues its three-game road trip at Wichita State on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 6:05 p.m. Arizona time. The game can be heard on the Lumberjack Radio Network in Flagstaff on 930 KAFF AM and in Phoenix/Globe on 94.1 FM KRDE. The game can also be heard on the internet at Stretch Internet.