FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Feb. 9, 2019) – The Northern Arizona University men's basketball team trailed by 19 points at halftime and was unable to recover from the slow start in a 86-71 loss to Weber State on Saturday afternoon at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff.
The Lumberjacks never led but stayed close to the Wildcats in the early going and trailed by just two points at 20-18 at the 8:20 mark. Weber State busted the game open after that point with a 15-1 spurt that allowed them to outscore NAU 26-9 and take a 46-27 lead into intermission.
"It is hard when you are not making shots to get back on and set up half-court defense," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "In the second half we made some shots but our defensive energy was not what it was at the start of the game. We just have to play with that all-out effort for 40 minutes while executing offensively."
Weber State's shooting was consistent throughout as it shot over 53 percent in both the first and second halves and finished the game making 54.1 percent (33-of-61) of their shots from the field. The Lumberjacks shooting struggles in the opening half was a big factor in the Wildcats building the advantage as NAU made just 9-of-30 shots (30.0 percent) in the first half.
The 'Jacks rebounded in the second half to shoot a 52.9 percent (18-of-34) clip and outscored the Wildcats 44-40 during the final stanza, but it wasn't enough as the margin never dipped below 13 points.
Junior guards Jerrick Harding and Cody John dominated offensively for the Wildcats in the win as they combined for 54 points on 19-of-31 shooting. Harding finished with a game-high 29 points while adding five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. John tabbed 25 points, six rebounds and two helpers.
NAU was paced in the loss by junior
Ted McCree, who registered double-digit points for the fifth consecutive game with 17. Sophomore
Bernie Andre added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Aziz Seck came off the bench to match his career-high in points with eight on 4-of-6 shooting.
The Lumberjacks return to the road next week for a pair of games beginning on Thursday, Feb. 14 at Portland State in an 8 p.m. MST tip.
The 'Jacks-Vikings contest will be streamed on Pluto TV (Channel 232). It can also be heard on the Lumberjacks Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 7:30 p.m. MST.
