FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Jan. 19, 2019) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team held the lead for nearly the final 25 minutes of regulation and led by as many as 15 points en route to posting a strong 82-75 victory over Portland State on Saturday afternoon at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.
Portland State opened with a six-point lead at 18-12 just under 10 minutes into the contest before the Lumberjacks pushed back with a 14-6 spurt to open a 26-24 advantage at the 4:51 mark. They would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game.
"I am very proud of our guys for how they stepped out today," NAU head coach Jack Murphy said. "I have to give a ton of credit to Cameron Shelton. He missed Thursday's game but came in today and was fantastic all over the floor. Ted McCree was also terrific and Brooks DeBisschop came off the bench and gave us a great performance."
NAU was faced with a full court press by Portland State for the majority of the contest but it was the Lumberjacks that came out on the winning end of the turnover battle forcing the Vikings into 23 miscues, while committing just 15. The 'Jacks doubled up Portland State in the points off turnovers column 30-15.
A total of four Lumberjacks recorded double-figure points to lead an NAU offense that shot nearly 50 percent from the field, finishing with a 49.1 percent clip after hitting on 27-of-55 attempts.
Three of those four players notched at least 18 points, led by sophomore Bernie Andre, who matched his career-best scoring effort with 21. Andre, who opened the game by making his first six shots from the field, has now posted double-figure points in six consecutive games – the longest such stretch by a Lumberjack this season.
Freshman Luke Avdalovic and McCree each added 18 points and combined to make 6-of-15 three point attempts. Shelton also notched 14 points, while adding seven rebounds and four assists. DeBisschop registered six points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Portland State was paced in defeat by Holland Woods, who tallied a team-best 21 points. Dante Strickland tabbed 19 and Robert McCoy totaled eight points and 10 rebounds.
The win moves the Lumberjacks' overall mark to 5-12 and 3-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The five victories matched NAU's win total from all of last season and the three conference wins represent the earliest point the 'Jacks have reached that amount of league victories in a season since 2014-15.
Portland State slips to 6-11 and 1-5 in Big Sky play with the loss.
The Lumberjacks played Saturday's game without the services of sophomore Carlos Hines (12.4 ppg), who was out due to injury.
The Lumberjacks will return to action next Saturday, Jan. 26 when they host current Big Sky Conference leader Northern Colorado. Tip time is slated for 6 p.m. MST from the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff.
The 'Jacks-Bears contest will be televised live on Your Phoenix CW and streamed on Pluto TV (Channel 239). It can also be heard on the Lumberjacks Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 5:30 p.m. MST.
