POCATELLO, Idaho (Jan. 5, 2019) – Five players scored double-figure points as the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team recorded a convincing 81-69 road victory over Idaho State on Saturday night in Pocatello.
The Lumberjacks took control from the jump as they never trailed and led for all but the opening 10 seconds of the contest. Efficient play on the offensive end allowed the 'Jacks to frustrate the Bengals' offensive attack as they connected on just 23-of-63 attempts from the field for a 36.5 shooting percentage.
"I have been saying it all year long that I believe in this team. I believe in the players and the infusion of talent that we added this season," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "We have seen it at times and in stretches but tonight we played a full 40 minutes, that's all I can say. I couldn't be more excited and proud of our effort tonight. Great job all around."
NAU was efficient offensively throughout as it employed a solid half court performance which saw them hit on 56.3 percent of its attempts overall and a solid 50 percent from three-point range, making 8-of-16 shots from long distance. That performance helped to limit Idaho State's transition game which entering the contest saw them score 49 percent of its points from beyond the arc. The Bengals only managed to make 12-of 37 three-point attempts (32.4 percent) in the loss.
"We did some things defensively that we haven't done much this season in terms of switching in positions one through five and giving them different looks," Murphy said. "They have so many talented shooters and playmakers. It is just one of those things where we knew that someone was going to go off but we couldn't let two or three of their guys do that. We did a tremendous job of taking away the three-point line."
Playing without one of their starting post players
Brooks DeBisschop, who was out with an ankle injury, the Lumberjacks were still able to dominate the play in the lane as they outrebounded the Bengals 31-28 and won the points in the paint battle 32-18. Sophomore
Bernie Andre was key in that effort as he posted 10 points and finished just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. Freshman
Nik Mains came off the bench to add depth down low as he tallied eight points and three boards in 23 minutes of action.
NAU ran out to a 7-2 lead out of the gate and led by as many as 15 points in the first half. Idaho State tried to make numerous pushes in the second half and got as close as five points after opening the second half with an 11-4 run over the opening five minutes, but the Lumberjacks responded by outscoring the Bengals 35-28 the rest of the way.
Leading the way for the 'Jacks in the scoring column was freshman
Luke Avdalovic, who finished with 17 points while making 4-of-5 attempts from deep and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Junior
Ted McCree had a solid game with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Sophomore
Carlos Hines notched 14 points and handed out six assists, while freshman
Cameron Shelton tabbed 12 points and three steals.
NAU was nearly perfect for the game from the free throw line as it finished 19-of-20 overall and just missed posting the sixth perfect game from the charity stripe in program history.
Idaho State was led in defeat by Balint Mocsan, who scored a game-high 25.
The Lumberjacks will conclude their current three-game road swing with a match up at Southern Utah on Saturday, Jan. 12 in Cedar City, Utah. Tip time is slated for 2 p.m. MST from the America First Event Center.
The 'Jacks-Thunderbirds contest will be televised live on Pluto TV (Channel 236). It can also be heard on the Lumberjacks Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 1:30 p.m. MST.
