BOZEMAN, Mont. (December 30, 2019) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team lost a close battle to Montana State on Monday night at Worthington Arena in its second conference matchup of the season, with the Bobcats edging the Lumberjacks, 63-61. The 'Jacks closed out their five-game road trip with two wins and three losses.
"We did a lot of really good things and we battled back," said interim head coach
Shane Burcar. "We have been really close to winning these last three games. That being said it was a quiet locker room after this one that's for sure."
NAU (6-5, 0-2 Big Sky) was led by junior forward
Bernie Andre as he racked up 17 points and also recorded six rebounds. Thirteen of Andre's 17 points came in the second half as he was 4-for-7 shooting, with two of his makes coming from beyond the three-point line.
Sophomore
Cameron Satterwhite started off the first half strong leading both squads with 10 points. Satterwhite was 4-for-6 from the field with two shots drained from behind the three-point line. Redshirt freshman
Keith Haymon also nailed two crucial three-point shots in the first half to help keep the 'Jacks within a possession at halftime with a score of 30-28 in Montana State's favor.
NAU doubled the number of three-point baskets as the 'Jacks converted eight threes as opposed to Montana State's four. Both teams were fairly even in shooting as the Lumberjacks shot for 40 percent (24-for-60), with the Bobcats having the slight advantage at 41.5 percent (17-for-41).
In his return from injury after having sat out Saturday's conference opener against Montana senior
Brooks DeBisschop snatched up four rebounds for the Lumberjacks in the first half. DeBisschop would end the night with six rebounds and eight points.
Sophomore
Cameron Shelton grabbed six rebounds off the board in the second half to lead NAU with eight throughout the game, while also leading the 'Jacks with five total assists. Shelton scored a season low of just seven points, making it the first time this season he has not scored in double-digits.
After trailing at the half, the Lumberjacks battled back to tie the game, 55-55, at the 3:09 mark after a second-chance three-point jumper by redshirt sophomore
Luke Avdalovic. Both teams traded turnovers on ensuing possessions, which helped set up a three-point play for the Bobcats to make the score, 58-55.
In an attempt to regain possession of the ball with just a minute left, NAU fouled Montana State, but the Bobcats answered as they converted one of two free throw shots putting the game at 59-55. Andre answered with a quick three with 50 seconds left to bring the Lumberjacks within one.
NAU would foul Montana State two more times late in the game, with the Bobcats answering again making all four free throw attempts. A late three by Shelton as time expired proved to be too little too late as the Lumberjacks suffered their third straight loss and fifth on the season.
A pivotal factor in the game was that MSU lined up at the charity stripe 28 times by the end of the game making 25 (89.3 percent). The 'Jacks only saw the free throw line 10 times and made just half of their attempts.
"At 0-2 in conference we have to understand that we have got 18 more games," Burcar said. "This is the fun part where we get to grind. I enjoy a challenge and I think because of that grind we will be successful. Our locker room was quiet in a good way. We will be fine and we are looking forward to getting back home."
NAU will return to the court to play its first home game in a month on Saturday, Jan. 4 against Weber State in its home conference opener at 4 p.m. MST at the Walkup Skydome.
