FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Dec. 31, 2018) – Junior
Chris Bowling scored a season-high 17 points and sophomore
Bernie Andre tabbed his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Northern Arizona men's basketball team to a key Big Sky Conference victory over Montana State by a 74-68 margin on Monday afternoon at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.
NAU sealed the win by closing out the game with a 20-14 burst after the score was deadlocked at 54-54 with 8:45 left in regulation.
The Lumberjack defense gave NAU momentum by holding the Bobcats without a field goal for the final three minutes of the first half. Bowling was key in the defensive effort as he helped limit Montana State sharpshooter Tyler Hall to just 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
"Chris (Bowling) give us length and size defensively on the perimeter and the wing," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "It is a different dimension physically that he has and it played an important role in our success today."
The victory improved the Lumberjacks' overall record to 3-9 and evened its mark in Big Sky contests to 1-1. The win also snapped an eight-game skid for NAU. Montana State slips to 4-8 overall and 1-1 in league action with the defeat.
"If we guard like we did today we are going to score some points," Murphy said. "We didn't even shoot particularly well, so that is encouraging against a talented Montana State team. When we moved the ball, which we did well at times today and that makes a big difference for us in terms of being successful offensively."
The Lumberjacks raced out to an early 9-2 lead on the strength of six early points by Andre. Montana State responded with an 18-3 run to claim a 20-12 advantage at the 11:40 mark of the first half. The Lumberjacks battled back for the rest of the opening 20 minutes and the Bobcats took just a one possession lead into the break at 35-32.
After Montana State opened the second half by increasing its lead to five at 41-36 at the 18:05 mark, the Lumberjacks reclaimed the advantage at 42-41 on a layup by Andre with 15:58 left in regulation. NAU trailed for only 23 seconds the rest of the way. Overall the game featured a total of three ties and six lead changes.
NAU dominated the glass as it outrebounded the Bobcats 41-29 and pulled down 10 offensive rebounds to the Bobcats' three.
Joining Bowling and Andre in double-figures for the 'Jacks was
Brooks DeBisschop and
Cameron Shelton, who each finished with 11 points. DeBisschop also pulled down 11 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season and the fourth of his career.
Andre and DeBisschop's performances marked the first time that NAU had a pair of players register a double-double in the same contest since Dec. 14, 2016 vs. Arkansas Little Rock when
JoJo Anderson and Jordyn Martin pulled the trick.
Sophomore
Carlos Hines set up his teammates with some tremendous passing as he finished with nine assists – the highest single-game total by an NAU player this season.
Harald Frey led Montana State in the loss with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
The Lumberjacks will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 3 at Weber State. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m. MST.
The 'Jacks-Wildcats contest will be televised live on Pluto TV (Channel 235). It can also be heard on the Lumberjacks Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m. MST.
