CEDAR CITY, Utah (Jan. 13, 2018) – Despite having four players post double-figure scoring totals, the Northern Arizona men's basketball team lost its fifth straight Big Sky Conference game by an 81-75 margin at Southern Utah on Saturday.
The five losses to open conference play marks the first time since the 1990-91 season, when NAU opened league play 0-7, that the Lumberjacks have dropped their first five Big Sky contests. The 'Jacks now sit at 3-15 overall, while Southern Utah moves to 7-9 overall and 1-4 in the conference loop.
NAU led 51-49 with 12:23 in regulation but the Thunderbirds responded with a 16-5 run over the next six minutes to open a 65-56 lead they would not relinquish.
The Lumberjacks led for a total of 1:14 in the contest, which saw a total of four ties and five lead changes.
Freshman
Karl Harris led the way for the 'Jacks in the loss as he tallied a team-high 19 points, which also matched his season best. Senior
Gino Littles chipped in 15, for his second straight game with double-digit points and
Isaiah Thomas and
Torry Johnson each added 14.
Brandon Better led four Thunderbirds who scored in double figures with 19. Jadon Cohee notched 18.
Southern Utah raced out to an early 12-4 advantage over the opening four minutes of action on the strength of a pair of three point field goals and 5-of-7 shooting.
The Thunderbirds led for the majority of the first half and by as much as 10 at the 6:44 mark of the opening half before Littles got hot for the Lumberjacks and ripped off 14 points in a span 4:13 to lead a 16-4 run and help give NAU its first lead of the game at 36-34 with 2:10 left before intermission.
SUU scored the final four points of the half and took a two-point edge into the locker room at 38-36.
The Lumberjacks return home on Thursday, Jan. 18 when they will host Eastern Washington in a 6:30 p.m. MST tip at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.
The 'Jacks-Eagles contest will aired live on the Lumberjack Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. and will also be streamed on Pluto.TV channel 239.
