TAMPA, Fla. (Dec. 18, 2017) – Sophomore
Brooks DeBisschop posted career-highs with 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Northern Arizona men's basketball team in a 70-56 setback at the University of South Florida on Monday night at the Sun Dome in Tampa.
DeBisschop's performance also represented the first double-double of his career and made him the second NAU player, joining junior
Isaiah Thomas, to record double-digits in points and rebounds this season.
"I thought we started off the second half well after giving up a back-breaking three pointer at the end of the first at the buzzer that pushed the lead from seven to 10," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "We started the second half with a 7-0 run to get the lead down to three, so I thought we came out after halftime ready to go and attacked them."
Following a low scoring and defensive first half that saw the USF lead stay at single digits before the buzzer-beating three pointer by Banks, which made the score 33-23 at the break, NAU responded with a 7-0 run over the opening 2:14 of the second half to trim the margin to 33-30.
USF answered with a pair of solid runs of its own as it outscored the 'Jacks 9-0 and 12-0 in separate spurts to pull away and open up a 61-44 advantage with 4:39 left in regulation.
The Bulls' offense was keyed by 10 connections from beyond the three-point arc, which bailed them out on several possessions late in the shot clock despite tight a defensive effort by the Lumberjacks that forced USF into 18 turnovers that NAU turned into 25 points.
Northern Arizona made just 4-of-23 shots from three-point range, which led to a number of transition opportunities and open shots for the Bulls at the opposite end of the floor as USF finished the game with a 50 percent clip from the field by making 26-of-52 attempts. The 'Jacks tallied a 34.9 percent total from the field for the contest (22-of-63).
"When we went to the bench some things happened there where we let their two shooters, Stephen Jiggetts and Payton Banks, create some opportunities and they made some big shots, so you have to give those two credit there," Murphy said. "I do think there were some positives. It was great to have Brooks (DeBisschop) back. I thought he was strong on both the offensive and defensive glass. We had a lot of open looks, we just have to knock them down."
The 'Jacks won the battle in the paint 34-22 and pulled down 14 offensive rebounds that led to 11 second-chance points.
Banks led a trio of Bulls that finished with double-figure points with 23 on 9-of-16 shooting. Jiggetts added 17 and Isaiah Manderson chipped in 12 to go along with 10 boards. Banks and Jiggetts combined to make eight of the 10 three-pointers for South Florida.
JoJo Anderson notched 10 for the 'Jacks to extend his streak of double-figure scoring efforts to three and increase his season total to eight.
The loss marks NAU's third straight and drops the 'Jacks overall record to 2-10. USF evened its season record to 6-6 following the victory.
Former Indiana and Marquette head coach Tom Crean visited the NAU locker room following the game to deliver some positive words of encouragement to the 'Jacks after the loss.
Northern Arizona will close out the non-conference schedule with a game at Jacksonville on Wednesday, Dec. 20 that will tip at 5 p.m. MST and air live on ESPN3 as well as the Lumberjack Radio Network, beginning with the pregame show at 4:30 p.m. MST.
