CEDAR CITY, Utah (Jan. 12, 2019) – Southern Utah sophomore Dre Marin hit a step-back jumper with 1.5 ticks left in regulation to lift the Thunderbirds to an 84-82 victory over the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at the America Events Center.
Marin set up his heroics one possession earlier with a driving layup and foul, which gave Southern Utah an 82-80 edge, before a basketball by NAU junior
Brooks DeBisschop deadlocked the game at 82-82 with just 10 seconds remaining.
The game featured seven ties and 12 lead changes – all of but one of each came in the final 20 minutes of action.
"You can't win a game on the road if you decide not to guard," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "We let one get away that we should have had. You have to play both sides and defend for 40 minutes. I am proud of how the guys executed offensively but we needed more effort on the defensive end."
The loss drops the Lumberjacks record to 4-11 overall and 2-3 in Big Sky Conference action. The defeat marked NAU's sixth straight in the all-time series vs. the Thunderbirds. Southern Utah moves to 7-7 overall and 2-3 in league games.
NAU had one of its better shooting efforts of the season as it shot 49.2 percent (30-of-61) from the field and matched a season-high with 13 made three pointers.
The Lumberjacks also had their second game this season where a pair of players posted a double-double. Sophomore
Bernie Andre tabbed his team-leading third of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting 8-of-10 overall and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Carlos Hines recorded 10 points and 10 assists for his first career double-double performance. The 10 helpers marked the most by an NAU player since
JoJo Anderson dished out 10 on Dec. 14, 2016 vs. Arkansas Little Rock.
Junior
Ted McCree drilled 5-of-11 three-point attempts en route to a career-best 19 points, while
Luke Avdalovic notched 16 on 6-of-9 shooting which included a 4-of-7 slip from three-point range.
Southern Utah had a total of five players finish with double-figure scoring totals. Cameron Oluyitan posted a team-best 18 points, while dropping in 5-of-8 three's. Harrison Butler and Jacob Calloway each added 17 and Marin finished with 13, including the game winner. Andre Adams rounded out the Thunderbirds' scoring leaders with 11.
NAU came out strong in the second half by scoring eight of the initial 10 points and claiming its first lead of the contest by a 45-44 margin at the 19:00 mark. The Thunderbirds followed by opening a 12-point edge on the strength of a 15-3 burst before the 'Jacks battled back over the final eight minutes.
Southern Utah led for nearly the entire first half, while stretching its advantage to as many as 10 at the 11:02 mark. NAU responded with a 10-3 run midway through the half, which was sparked by three-pointers from Bolton and Hines, to get within three before another trey by Hines deadlocked the score at 30-30 with 3:23 left before the break.
Both teams traded buckets over the final minutes before the Thunderbirds took a two-point edge into halftime at 42-40. The first half saw NAU connect on 9-of-18 shots from beyond the arc – led by McCree who nailed 4-of-6 attempts from long distance in the opening 20 minutes.
The Lumberjacks will return home for the start of a four-game homestand on Thursday, Jan. 18 vs. Sacramento State. Tip time is slated for 6:30 p.m. MST from the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff.
The 'Jacks-Hornets contest will be televised live on Pluto TV (Channel 239). It can also be heard on the Lumberjacks Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. MST.
