FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Feb. 21, 2019) – Sophomore
Bernie Andre recorded his sixth double-double of the season, with a career-high 22 points and 13 rebounds, to lead the Northern Arizona men's basketball team to its second consecutive victory with a convincing 75-54 win over Idaho on a snowy Thursday night at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.
The win allowed the Lumberjacks to sweep a season series from a conference opponent for the first time since the 2014-15 season, when they posted a pair of regular-season victories over Southern Utah and Portland State.
The 21-point margin of victory marked the Lumberjacks' largest against a conference foe since it defeated North Dakota 88-63 on Feb. 7, 2015 – a span of 77 Big Sky regular-season games.
"I would like to thank everyone who made it out tonight with the storm," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "Everyone at NAU that made tonight's game possible with the record snow storm we had today, to be able pull this off is a pretty amazing feat considering we had the most snow fall in the history of Flagstaff."
NAU took control from the outset of Thursday's contest as it raced out to an early 20-7 advantage and never trailed for the second straight game.
"Great win by the guys tonight," Murphy said. "To lead wire-to-wire for two straight games, I am really proud of our guys and how they have responded to adversity."
The Lumberjacks closed out the first half with a strong 12-0 run that saw them hold Idaho without a single point for the final 4:16 before intermission and head into the break with a 20-point edge at 42-22. The 'Jacks shot a 56.7 percent (17-of-30) clip from the field over the initial 20 minutes.
Idaho trimmed the margin to 15 with a 5-0 spurt early in the second half, but that was as close as it would get as the Lumberjacks would build its lead to as high as 25 and led by at least 20 points for the final 14:41 of regulation.
Andre was solid throughout as he hit on 10-of-14 shots from the field en route to his career-best 22-point scoring effort. It marked his 13
th game with double-figure points over the last 15 contests.
NAU had a total of nine players record points in the win and six players that scored at least seven points. The victory also saw every single Lumberjack that saw game action (11 players total) pull down at least a single rebound. The helped lead the 'Jacks to a huge advantage in the paint that saw them outscore the Vandals 36-14 in the lane and 12-4 in second-chance points.
Idaho was paced in the loss by Tyson Cameron who finished with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the three-point arc.
Junior
Chris Bowling returned to action for the 'Jacks and played a total of seven minutes after missing the previous nine games due to injury.
The win moves the Lumberjacks' overall record to 9-17 and 7-9 in Big Sky action. The loss marked the 12
th straight for the Vandals, which marks the longest such stretch in program history. Idaho now sits at 4-22 overall and 1-14 in conference games.
The Lumberjacks will play their final home game of the season when they host Eastern Washington in a pivotal Big Sky clash on Saturday, Feb. 23 in a 2 p.m. MST tip at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.
The 'Jacks-Eagles contest will be streamed on Pluto TV (Channel 239). It can also be heard on the Lumberjacks Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 1:30 p.m. MST.
