POCATELLO, Idaho – Northern Arizona entered tonight on a four-game win streak, but a hungry Idaho State team knocked off the Lumberjacks 8-66 tonight at Holt Arena. The Bengals led by as much as 14 points with nine minutes left to play to capture their first win over NAU since 2012.

"You have to give Idaho State credit," said head coach Jack Murphy. "They came out here and got the win over us. We had won five straight over them, but they were able to get the best of us tonight. It's time to turn our focus to Weber State, learn from our mistakes tonight and focus on our next game."

Idaho State (6-18, 3-9 Big Sky) went on a 14-2 run for the final four minutes and 48 seconds of the first half to take a 42-32 halftime lead. NAU's four turnovers in the final three minutes and 50 seconds didn't help either, as the Lumberjacks had a six-point lead with just under seven minutes left in the half.

NAU (12-12, 7-4 Big Sky) went 1-for-5 to finish the half, but it was Idaho State's 5-for-7 performance that led to the Bengals taking a 10-point halftime lead off 64 percent shooting from the floor.

Coming out of the half, NAU had back-to-back buckets by Aaseem Dixon and Quinton Upshur to get the offense going. The Lumberjacks and Bengals began to trade baskets which would not help NAU in the long run.

At the 10-minute mark, NAU trailed Idaho State 59-46, as Upshur sat on the bench in foul trouble. Thirty seconds later, Ako Kaluna hit a three-pointer, Upshur came off the bench to knock down a pair of free throws and the Lumberjacks were back to within 10 points.

The Lumberjacks continued to trim into the Bengals' lead and it was a deep three-pointer by Upshur that brought NAU to within six points with less than five minutes left to play.

From there, the Bengals took advantage of free throws and opportunities in the paint that saw the home team go up 75-64 with 2:37 remaining.

Idaho State entered the game as the league's worst free throw shooting team at 64.3 percent, but the Bengals made eight of nine attempts in the final five minutes to keep NAU at a distance and come away with the win.

Upshur led NAU with 24 points and six rebounds. Kris Yanku added 17 points and Dixon recorded 12 points. The Lumberjacks shot 37.9 percent from the floor, but a solid 93.3 percent from the free throw line.

The Bengals had four players score in double digits led by Chris Hansen who had 22 points and six rebounds. Idaho State finished the game shooting 53.8 percent from the floor to snap a five-game losing streak to NAU.

Notes: Double figure scoring games – Quinton Upshur (20), Kris Yanku (17), Aaseem Dixon (16)…Tonight's loss snapped a five-game win streak for NAU over Idaho State....Idaho State scored 25 points off turnovers to NAU's six points.