GREELEY, Colo. (March 9, 2019) – Sophomore
Bernie Andre scored a career-high 26 points and the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team rallied from a 14-point deficit with under 12 minutes left in the second half to force overtime and earn a huge 89-78 road win in the regular-season finale on Saturday evening at Big Sky co-leader Northern Colorado.
The Lumberjacks took the momentum it built from a relentless second-half rally into the overtime, which saw it outscore the Bears 15-4 to seal the victory. NAU scored nine of the first 10 points of the extra period and hit 4-of-5 shots from the field and 7-of-9 attempts from the free throw line in overtime.
"I am so proud of the guys," NAU head coach
Jack Murphy said. "It was a tough pill to swallow there at the end of regulation, but this group has been resilient all year. I couldn't be more pumped about this win."
Northern Colorado, which trailed the Lumberjacks by as many as 11 in the first half, built up a 14-point advantage in the second stanza before NAU ripped off a key 15-6 run to get back to within five points. Freshman
Luke Avdalovic sparked the 'Jacks during the spurt with 11 of his 12 points, including three connections from beyond the arc.
"
Luke Avdalovic changed the whole course of the game," Murphy said. "He hit a couple of key threes and made some free throws to totally change the tide of the game and get us back going offensively."
That stretch set up NAU to keep things close and force the Bears into the extra period as the 'Jacks posted a furious rally after falling behind by a 71-64 count with 2:06 left in regulation. From that point on, NAU would go on an 8-0 run to claim a 72-71 lead on a bucket by Andre with 31 seconds remaining.
"The way we ended the game in the final minutes of regulation and overtime with
Bernie Andre and
Nik Mains making tough plays down low was clutch," Murphy said.
After the two teams traded a pair of free throws to make the score 74-73 Lumberjacks, NAU's
Carlos Hines made a clutch steal at midcourt, but missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity after being fouled. Freshman
Cameron Shelton followed by committing a foul with under two seconds remaining. Fortunately for the Lumberjacks, Northern Colorado's Jonah Radebaugh made just one of two free throw attempts to send the game into overtime.
"I can't say enough about our guard play," Murphy said. "
Cameron Shelton and
Davon Bolton, along with
Carlos Hines, the job they did tonight on Jordan Davis was incredible."
With the victory, Northern Arizona is guaranteed to play in the No. 8/9 game at the 2019 Big Sky Conference Championship, which tips off at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho on Wednesday, March 13.
The Lumberjacks will open the postseason on Wednesday in an 8:30 a.m. tip (AZ local time) (9:30 a.m. Boise local time) against either Sacramento State or Southern Utah.
The win over Northern Colorado snaps a 12-game losing streak for the 'Jacks against the Bears in road contests and marks NAU's first victory in Greeley since 2006.
Andre, who has now scored double-figure points in a total of 22 games this season, recorded 18 of his career-high 26 points in the second half to help lead the 'Jacks' comeback. Hines chipped in 14, while freshman Mains came off the bench to add 13 points and six rebounds.
Northern Colorado was led in defeat by Davis who tallied 21 points and made 7-of-10 shots from the charity stripe. Bodie Hume made 5-of-8 treys on the way to a 17-point scoring effort and Kai Edwards notched 12.
The Lumberjacks made 20-of-25 attempts from the free throw line in the victory and outrebounded the Bears 41-33, which led to an 18-6 edge in second-chance points. NAU connected on 13 three pointers, which matches its season-best total accomplished twice previously this season.
