Hot Shooting Second Half by the Broncos, Sinks Lumberjacks on the Road
/ November 16, 2015
Box Score BOISE, Idaho – Jaleni Neely led Northern Arizona with 20 points on the road at Boise State, but the Broncos used a second half surge to pull away from the Lumberjacks with a 101-81 victory at Taco Bell Arena.
"We talked about at the half that if we can get them (Boise State) down to 30 percent from three-point range we could win. That didn't happen," said head coach Jack Murphy."
The Lumberjacks (0-2) held the lead for six minutes in the first half and by as many as five points with six minutes to go, mostly due to its ability to limit turnovers and connect from long range.
NAU went perfect from the charity stripe in the first half connecting on all six attempts, and shot 45.7 percent from the floor to keep itself in the game.
Knocking down treys and forcing Bronco turnovers is what the Lumberjacks did well out the gate.
When it came to the second half, Boise State (1-1) came out aggressive taking a 57-50 advantage. The Lumberjacks were able to get in the paint and make a few trips to the line, but the Broncos kept finding ways to get past NAU.
Boise State's score increase was mostly credited to James Webb and Anthony Drmic. Both players netted 22 points each to lead the Broncos, while Webb and Chandler Hutchinson finished with double-doubles. Boise State shot 55.0 percent from the floor for the game and 50 percent from three-point range.
The Lumberjacks hurt themselves with missed opportunities to convert trips to the free throw line into points making just 8 of 14 in the second half.
NAU managed 20 points off turnovers and 17 fastbreak points with the bench contributing 23 total points.
"The last six or seven minutes we put a younger group in with Jaleni and Ako (Kaluna) and they did well," Murphy said. "Our freshmen are definitely improving. They're very coachable, play hard and compete. It's a tough road stretch we're on right now. Defensively we need to clear some things up. I'm proud of how we're getting better."
Torry Johnson added 14 points for NAU, while Kaluna and Kris Yanku chipped in 10 points apiece.
NAU will continue its road trip with a matchup at Gonzaga on Wednesday night. It will be the home opener for the Bulldogs, as their season opener in Japan was cancelled midway through the game. The game can be watched live on Watch ESPN.
Notes: Double figure scorers: Jaleni Neely (20), Torry Johnson (14), Kris Yanku (10), and Ako Kaluna (10)…For the second straight game NAU had four or more players score in double digits…BSU out-rebounded NAU 41 to 29…The Lumberjacks' last field goal of the game came with 2:33 to go in the game.
