FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 11, 2020) – For the second straight game, the Northern Arizona men's basketball team nearly rallied from a significant deficit only to come up just shy. Trailing by as much as 18 with 6:25 remaining in the game, the Lumberjacks eventually fell 71-67 to Idaho State in the Walkup Skydome.
Consecutive three-pointers by sophomore
Luke Avdalovic chopped the NAU deficit to 70-67 with 28.1 seconds left in a frantic sequence. The Lumberjacks then had a near steal at midcourt before being forced to foul with 4.8 seconds on the clock. The Bengals missed the front end of a one-and-one, but corralled the offensive rebound.
With a second opportunity to make it a two-possession game, Idaho State hit one of the two ensuing free throws to provide the final margin.
"We have to figure out how not to get into a hole," said interim head coach
Shane Burcar. "Idaho State made plays and we didn't. We're figuring things out right now. We're going to work our way out of this."
Senior
Brooks DeBisschop, playing in his 100th career game on Saturday, posted his team-leading second double-double of the season. DeBisschop reset his career-high for the second time in three games, scoring a game-high 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds. He also recorded two steals and a block.
NAU (7-7 overall, 1-4 Big Sky) shot 50 percent in the second half after shooting just 38.7 percent in the first. The Lumberjacks shot 44.4 percent for the game, but the Bengals shot 48.1 percent overall. Idaho State also narrowly outrebounded NAU, 37-34, despite DeBisschop's game-high 10 boards off the glass.
Junior
Cameron Satterwhite, who scored 13 points, hit a three on NAU's first possession to put the Lumberjacks ahead, 3-2, but that was NAU's only lead of the game. Idaho State followed with a 14-4 run to open up a nine-point lead and led by as much as 12, 29-17, with 3:39 remaining in the first half.
Senior
Ted McCree started a 7-0 Lumberjack run with a layup and Satterwhite connected on another triple to cap the run to make it a 29-24 game with two minutes left before halftime. The five-point Idaho State margin held at the break with the Bengals leading 31-26 going into the locker rooms.
The 'Jacks trailed by just four at 47-43 following a DeBisschop bucket with 11 minutes to play, but the Bengals' lead ballooned in a hurry. Idaho State blitzed NAU with four of its seven threes in a four and a half minute span to take a 62-44 lead with 6:25 to play after a 15-1 run.
The deficit still sat at 16 with 3:37 to go before junior
Bernie Andre ignited a 9-0 run with a three that cut the Bengals' lead to 68-61 with 1:13 left. After Idaho State hit a pair of free throws with just under a minute remaining, Avdalovic hit the first of two consecutive threes to bring NAU within 70-64 with 37.1 seconds remaining.
Satterwhite intercepted Idaho State's pass on the very next possession and found Avdalovic for another three right in front of the NAU bench. But Idaho State wound up surviving NAU's furious rally to hand the Lumberjacks' their fourth conference loss, which have all been by seven points or fewer.
McCree (12) and Avdalovic (11) rounded out NAU's four double-digit scorers. The two shooters combined for five of NAU's eight three-pointers on the afternoon.
As quick as they returned home, NAU will be turn right back around and head out to Southern Utah and Northern Colorado next Thursday and Saturday. The week's road trip will finally conclude a brutal stretch that had the 'Jacks on the road for five of their first seven Big Sky games.
