BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Dec. 2, 2017) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team closed out the game with a 16-4 run and held CSU Bakersfield without a field goal for an 8:24 stretch late in the second half to post its first victory of the season by a 60-52 margin on the road on Saturday night at the Icardo Center.
The Lumberjacks used a stifling defensive effort throughout the contest to set the tone for the win as it forced the Roadrunners into a total of 25 turnovers, including 10 steals. NAU converted those miscues into 27 points and won the battle in the paint 30-24.
"I have to commend our guys, we challenged them yesterday in a film session about playing together and playing like they love each other, and this team does," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "We converted from defense to offense better than we have all year long and at the end of the game we closed them out. We were able to sustain their runs and take the punches and throw some punches back in the end."
Saturday's game capped a six-game road swing for Northern Arizona which will now return home for two of its next three games beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 6 vs. San Diego Christian in a 6:30 p.m. MST tip.
The win snapped a seven-game skid for the 'Jacks as they move to 1-7 overall on the season. CSU Bakersfield slips to 4-5 with the loss. The defeat was a rare home setback to a non-conference opponent for the Roadrunners, who now own a 26-5 record at home vs. non-league foes since 2015.
"The pressure starts building to get a win and yesterday we said forget about that, Murphy said." "Get to work, play together and do what you know you are capable of doing. We just beat one of the best mid-major programs on the west coast in their building. This is one of the best wins we have had in my six years here. They (CSU Bakersfield) do not lose non-conference games at home."
Following a 28-24 deficit at halftime, the Lumberjacks outscored the Roadrunners 36-24 over the final 20 minutes and limited CSU Bakersfield to just a 34.8 field goal percentage (8-of-23) in the second half while forcing 14 turnovers.
"We knew it was going to be a toughness battle and I felt like for that moment, for those 40 minutes, we were the tougher team," Murphy said. "If we can just bottle that and capture it and bring it back to Flagstaff we can show people what we are made of."
Following a free throw by CSU Bakersfield's Shon Briggs with 5:57 left in regulation, which knotted the game at 49-49, the Lumberjacks went on a 9-0 run to claim the lead for good. Four different players scored for NAU in the spurt, which gave the 'Jacks its largest lead of the game at 58-49 with 53 seconds left in the contest.
The first half was a back and forth affair that featured seven ties and five lead changes. NAU opened the game with a 4-0 advantage before falling behind by just five before Bakersfield went into intermission holding a 28-24 edge.
Junior forward
Isaiah Thomas led the 'Jacks in the opening 20 minutes as he posted all 12 of his points in the first half. Thomas also added 10 rebounds for the contest in tallying the first double-double performance for NAU this season.
'Jacks sophomore
Chris Bowling totaled 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field to lead all scorers. Junior guard
Torry Johnson matched a career-high with five assists as he came off the bench for the first time this season.
The Lumberjacks opened with a different starting lineup for the first time over the initial eight games this season as sophomore
JoJo Anderson and senior
Ruben Fuamba made their first appearances in the starting five this season.
The NAU bench outscored the Roadrunners reserves 27-23, marking the fifth time in eight games this season that the Lumberjacks' reserves outscored their opponents.
The Lumberjacks finished with their best shooting effort of the season as they connected on 24-of-46 shot attempts for a 52.2 percent clip from the field.
Shon Biggs and Moataz Aly paced CSU Bakersfield in the loss as each netted 11 points.
Northern Arizona will return home for the first time in 23 days when it hosts San Diego Christian on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at the Rolle Activity Center in a 6:30 p.m. MST tip that will be televised live on Fox Sports Arizona Plus (Suddenlink Channel 39 in Flagstaff).
The 'Jacks-Hawks matchup will also be broadcast live on the Lumberjack Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. MST.
