SAN JOSE, Calif. (Dec. 15, 2018) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team led for over 30 minutes and by as many as 12 points before suffering a 79-74 defeat at San Jose State on Saturday night.
The loss marked the Lumberjacks fifth straight and dropped their overall record to 2-6. San Jose State improved to 3-6 following the come-from-behind victory.
"We knew they were bigger and we got outrebounded by 16," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "We knew they were bigger but that doesn't mean we can't out rebound them. Plus we had 15 turnovers and that kills you. We had only four assists in the second half, it just isn't good enough."
NAU raced out to an 18-6 lead over the opening 6:14 of the contest despite losing starting guard
Ted McCree just over a minute into the game due to an undisclosed head injury after he collided with a teammate. Four different players hit from long distance during the run, including guard
Luke Avdalovic, who connected on 6-of-12 treys for the game and finished with 20 points.
"I thought the defensive pressure was fantastic and it got us off to a good start," Murphy said. "I obviously thought the loss of Ted (McCree) hurt us. He is definitely one of our better players. I can't say enough about Luke stepping up off the bench, he is just an absolute stud. We just need more consistency from the entire roster on a night to night basis."
Despite seeing the Spartans rally as close as one possession on six different occasions after building their double-digit lead, the Lumberjacks managed to maintain a 10-point edge at the break at 40-30. NAU made 12-of-25 shots for a percentage of 48 percent, including a 50 percent (9-of-18) clip from three-point range.
San Jose State played the first half without leading scorer Michael Steadman (13.5 ppg), who was suspended for a violation of team rules.
The 'Jacks held the lead until the 9:59 mark of the second half when a three-pointer by Noah Baumann gave the Spartans their first lead of the game at 51-50. The lead changed a total of four more times and was tied with as little as 1:52 left in regulation before the Spartans raced off a 10-5 spurt to close out the game and seal the victory.
Overall, San Jose State outscored the Lumberjacks 49-34 in the second half and were led by Steadman, who returned to play all of the final 20 minutes while posting 10 points and eight rebounds.
Bernie Andre tabbed 21 in the loss for the Lumberjacks, while shooting 7-of-13 overall from the field. He joined Avdalovic (20 points) to give the 'Jacks a pair of 20-point scorers in the same game since Jan. 18, 2018 vs. Eastern Washington – a span of 21 games.
Freshman
Cameron Shelton totaled six points, seven rebounds and six assists – which marked the most helpers in a single-game by an NAU player this season.
The teams finished even in the paint at 20-20 but the Spartans bested the Lumberjacks 13-4 on second-chance points.
The Lumberjacks continue their eight-day, three-game road trip on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at the University of San Francisco in an 8 p.m. MST tip.
The 'Jacks-Dons contest will be televised live on
TheW.tv. It can also be heard on the Lumberjacks Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 7:30 p.m. MST.
