PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. (December 8, 2019) – The Northern Arizona University men's basketball team ripped off a 35-10 run in the opening half before fending off a furious rally by Omaha en route to a 73-65 win on Sunday afternoon at the Findlay Toyota Center.
The Lumberjacks led for all but 6:46 of the action thanks to their first-half explosion, which saw them connect on 55.9 percent of their shot attempts in the opening 20 minutes.
With the score deadlocked at 10-10 with 10:06 left in the first half, freshman
Ajang Aguek drilled a three pointer to give the 'Jacks their first lead of the game and opened the floodgates as NAU kept building on the margin before eventually taking a 45-20 advantage into the break.
"It was kind of a seesaw at first with both teams kind of struggling to score until Ajang (Aguek) hit the three pointer in the left corner and then we went on a nice little run," NAU head coach
Shane Burcar said. "We just wanted to come out and play each possession tough, but to Omaha's credit they got hot in the second half."
The Lumberjacks used defense to create offense during the first-half spurt as they forced Omaha into eight turnovers in the initial 20 minutes and did not allow an offensive rebound until nearly 15 minutes into the contest.
"We definitely stepped up defensively, especially in the first half," NAU sophomore guard
Cameron Shelton said. "We talked all week about how we had to improve our performance on the defensive end and I am really proud of how we responded as a team."
Omaha battled back in the second half by scoring the first 11 points and went on to outscore the 'Jacks 17-2 in the first five minutes to trim the lead to 47-37. The Mavericks would get as close as within six points at 63-57 with 7:22 left, but NAU would hang on for the win with a final push that saw it outscore Omaha by two points over the remainder of the game.
The Lumberjacks had a total of four players post double-figure points, led by Shelton who finished with a game-high 20 for his sixth-consecutive game with double-digit scoring totals. Junior
Ted McCree notched 17, while shooting 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Junior
Bernie Andre and sophomore
Cameron Satterwhite each chipped in 10.
Matt Pile paced the Mavericks in defeat with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Zach Thornhill registered 14 and KJ Robinson added 10.
For the game, the Lumberjacks made 47.5 percent (28-of-59) of their shots from the field, while Omaha managed a 42.6 percent (29-of-68) clip.
NAU's reserves contributed 40 points in the victory and the 'Jacks turned 12 offensive rebounds into 17 seocnd-chance points.
The game marked the first time that the Lumberjacks have played a game in Prescott Valley since Nov. 30, 2011 when they faced BYU at the Findlay Toyota Center.
The Lumberjacks begin a stretch of five-straight games on the road on Saturday, Dec. 14 when they travel to face Utah Valley in a 7:30 p.m. MST tip.
NAU men's basketball ticket packages are currently on sale for the 2019-20 season. Fans can purchase tickets online at nauathletics.com/tickets or by calling the Lumberjack Ticket Office at 928-523-0639.
