FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Feb. 10, 2018) – Northern Arizona struggled with its shooting touch as it connected on just 16-of-56 shots from the field in a 63-54 loss to Southern Utah on Saturday afternoon at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff.
The game was a physical affair that saw both teams have a hard time on the offensive end as they combined for 48 fouls and 35 turnovers, while connecting on just 33 field goals over the 40 minutes of action.
Southern Utah limited NAU to just a 7-of-29 (24.1 percent) performance from the field in the second half as it outscored the Lumberjacks 33-25 over the final 20 minutes to close out the victory. The Lumberjacks did not make a field goal for the initial 7:55 of the final period.
"We took some poor shots and I thought our offensive decision making to start the game was poor, but our effort was there," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "We did enough on the defensive end to win the game but Southern Utah made eight three pointers and we made one. It comes down to making shots."
The setback marks the 'Jacks fourth straight overall and drops their season record to 4-21 and 1-11 in Big Sky action. Southern Utah sweeps the season series over NAU with the win and sees its record move to 10-13 overall and 4-8 in conference play.
The first half was tightly contested as it featured a total of five ties and 12 lead changes. Southern Utah broke through first as it ran out to a 21-12 lead before the Lumberjacks answered with a 10-0 spurt to take their largest lead of the game at 26-23 with three minutes left before the break.
The Lumberjacks never led after holding a 29-27 advantage with two ticks left in the first half as Jamal Aytes put the Thunderbirds in front for good with a buzzer-beating three-pointer from 60-feet out to send Southern Utah into the locker room with a 30-29 lead.
Junior
Corey Brown was the lone player to post double-figure points for Northern Arizona as he tallied a game-best 14 on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Sophomore
Brooks DeBisschop pulled down 11 boards to lead all players which marked his sixth game with double-digit rebounds this season and his fourth over the last six games.
Southern Utah had a total of four players post double-digits in the scoring column and was led by Brandon Better's team-high 13. Aytes and James McGee tallied 12 each while Dwayne Morgan added 10 in the win.
The 'Jacks lost despite owning a 26-14 edge in points in the paint and a 13-4 advantage in second-chance points. NAU also limited the Thunderbirds to a 35.4 percent (17-of-48) performance from the field and won the battle on the glass 41-38.
The Lumberjacks will return to action next week with the first of a pair of road games on Thursday, Feb. 15 at Northern Colorado in a 7 p.m. MST tip. It will mark the first meeting between the 'Jacks and Bears this season.
The Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado contest will be aired on the Lumberjack Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m. MST and streamed on PlutoTV (channel 241).
