JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Dec. 20, 2017) – Sophomore
JoJo Anderson rung up 26 points as the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team snapped a three-game skid with an 83-72 road win at Jacksonville University on Wednesday night.
The Lumberjacks led by as many as 23 points and shot a season-best 60.8 clip from the field as a season-high four players finished with double-figure points.
The 'Jacks held the Dolphins to a 37.3 shooting percentage and posted eight blocks, which were the most by the Lumberjacks since also swatting away eight on Nov. 23, 2015 vs. San Diego Christian.
"We did a good job contesting shots tonight. I am proud of the way our guys came right out and took the fight to Jacksonville," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "We wanted to dominate the paint and I thought for the most part we did that. It is nice to head into the holidays and close out the non-conference schedule with a solid road win."
Joining Anderson in double-digits was junior
Isaiah Thomas who finished with 13 points to go along with nine rebounds and a career-best four blocks. Freshman
Lenell Henry added a season-best 11 points, while sophomore
Chris Bowling notched 10.
Anderson's 26-point effort marked his fourth consecutive in double digits and his ninth overall this season.
Jacksonville made a late push in the second half but would get no closer than nine points in the final 20 minutes.
The game opened with each team posting a strong scoring run as NAU rolled out to a 10-0 advantage on the strength of back-to-back three-pointers by Anderson and DeBisschop and a basket each by Littles and Thomas over the initial 2:36 of action.
Jacksonville answered with a 9-0 spurt with every point coming off the hot hand of Tanner Rubio who connected on his first three attempts from long distance to trim the 'Jacks lead to one at 10-9 at the 15:52 mark.
With the Dolphins leading 19-15, the Lumberjacks took control as they ripped off 15 straight points and 20 of the final 24 points of the first half and limited the Dolphins to just a pair of field goals over the final 11:20 prior to halftime.
NAU shot 57.7 percent from the field in the first half. Anderson scored 14 of his 26 points in the first 20 minutes, including three connections from beyond the arc.
The 'Jacks improve to 3-10 following the victory, while Jacksonville slips to 4-9.
Northern Arizona will enjoy a week off for the holidays before returning to action at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome for the start of Big Sky Conference action on Thursday, Dec. 28 when it hosts Montana in a 6:30 p.m. MST tip.
The 'Jacks-Grizzlies matchup will be aired live on the Lumberjack Radio Network and NAU-TV (Suddenlink Channel 4 in Flagstaff).
