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PDF BOX SCORE – NAU VS. IBA ELITE
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NASSAU, Bahamas (August 16, 2018) – Sophomore guard
Carlos Hines scored a game-high 25 points as the Northern Arizona men's basketball team cruised to a 103-80 victory over IBA Elite in its opening game of its three-game foreign tour in the Bahamas on Thursday.
The Lumberjacks led by a nine-point margin at halftime (53-44) before breaking the game open in the final 20 minutes of action as they outscored IBA Elite 50-36 in the second half.
"I thought our starting five executed well and they made a lot of stops defensively," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "They ran the court and made plays for each other. When we went to the bench it tapered off a little. We have a lot of new players, so expectations are high but we have to understand it will take some time for them to come together."
The Lumberjacks' starting five had a new look as it featured a total of three newcomers including
Jonathan (Bernie) Andre,
Cameron Shelton and
Ted McCree. All three finished with double-figure scoring efforts, led by Andre who posted a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 9-of-12 overall.
Shelton added 15 points while connecting on 6-of-8 shots and fell just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. McCree tabbed 13 points while adding nine rebounds and a team-best six assists.
As a team, the Lumberjacks shot for a solid 54 percent clip (44-of-81) and outrebounded IBA Elite 59-32.
NAU led by as many as 29 points in the victory and was ahead for all but 1:39 of game action. The Lumberjacks biggest run of the contest was a 12-0 spurt that increased their lead to 72-49 with 14:56 left in regulation.
Northern Arizona also dominated in the paint in the victory outscoring IBA Elite 64-18 and winning the battle of second-chance points 22-7.
The 'Jacks will return to action in the Bahamas on Friday, August 17 in a 4:30 p.m. MST tip vs. Star Basketball Club.
