FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 25, 2020) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team (10-7, 4-4 Big Sky) defeated Big Sky Conference rival Portland State in a thrilling second half comeback win, 84-82, on Saturday evening at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.
A packed crowd of 1,624 fans helped spark a comeback win that saw four Lumberjacks finish with double-digits in scoring. Junior forward
Bernie Andre recorded a double-double (20 points, 15 rebounds) and redshirt sophomore guard Luke Avdalvoic set a new career-high in points (25).
"It was a frustrating start," said interim head coach
Shane Burcar. "We did not panic despite being down early. We stayed the course and were composed. The way we pushed at the end of the first half was a huge difference maker."
The 'Jacks shot 36 percent (10-for-25) on three-point attempts throughout the evening. Avdalovic nailed seven three-pointers as he led the Blue & Gold in scoring with 25 points. Avdalovic's performance was just short of his personal best of eight made threes set earlier this season versus SAGU American Indian College.
"This was a game that we knew the type of style they would have," said Avdalovic. "It was high pressure up and down offense that would try to get off a quick shot. We did not want to feed into that too much; Coach had confidence that our shooters could make it if we were open. I trust my teammates to find me and they were able to throughout the game."
"Luke should start every game that he plays here from here on out," said Burcar. "He really should because of his shooting; our guys kept finding him when he was hot."
Andre scored 20 points, raked in 15 rebounds and recorded three steals to propel NAU to a late victory. Eleven of Andre's 15 rebounds came in the second half as he recorded season highs in scoring and rebounds.
"I'm so happy for the young man," added Burcar. "He was able to keep working and not get down. There is a lot of season left and we look forward to him continuing to be the
Bernie Andre we all know."
NAU headed into halftime down 45-37 after a hot start from the Vikings. The Lumberjacks trailed by as many as 15 points as late as 3:55 left in the first half. By essentially cutting that lead in half by halftime, the 'Jacks put themselves in position to mount a comeback.
Throughout the second half NAU fought an uphill battle as they tried to shorten the lead. With 12:53 left in the game senior forward
Brooks DeBisschop tied the game at 56-56 with a dunk and in the final nine and a half minutes, the Lumberjacks outscored the Vikings, 27-19.
At the 2:18 mark, DeBisschop made two free throw baskets to tie the game up at 79-79. After a pair of scoreless back and forth possessions, Andre pulled in an offensive rebound and put it back up for a layup to help NAU take the lead, 81-79.
DeBisschop split a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds left to make it a two-point game, 84-82, and Portland State's Holland Woods missed a running layup right before the buzzer to allow NAU to prevail.
Shelton and DeBisschop capped off the double-digit scorers for NAU as they finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Shelton also dished out seven assists to lead the 'Jacks in that category.
Sal Nuhu led the Vikings in scoring and rebounds with 18 points and 15 boards. Four Portland State players also scored in the double-digits.
Northern Arizona will return to the court on Monday, Jan. 27 to face off against Sacramento State at the Skydome with tip-off slated for 6 p.m.
