Lumberjacks Battle No. 1/1 Gonzaga to the End in 88-58 Loss

SPOKANE, Wash. (December 28, 2020) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team stuck with No. 1/1 Gonzaga throughout the second half in an 88-58 loss Monday night in McCarthey Athletic Center. The Lumberjacks (1-6) played the Bulldogs (8-0) virtually even in the final 20 minutes with Gonzaga outscoring NAU by just a 37-35 margin after halftime.
 
"I told our guys in the locker room after the game that there are no such thing as moral victories, but these are big picture games," said head coach Shane Burcar. "We don't want to shy away from any competition and Gonzaga is really good. The bottom line is we took some charges and shot 12-of-22 in the second half and we battled. You play these games to be great in your conference and we look forward to Thursday and Saturday (at Idaho)."
 
Monday night marked just the third ever meeting between NAU and the top-ranked team in the country. Gonzaga, who received 62 of 64 first place votes in the AP Top 25 and 29 of 32 first place votes in the Coaches Poll released earlier on Monday, has been held the No. 1 ranking since the preseason.
 
"I was really happy to be a part of our guys having the opportunity to play the number one team in the country," Burcar said. "You can play in great conferences, in the Power 5, and never have that opportunity. I've been part of sports since I was four years old and these are the games you want to play. I'm really happy to have tonight happen for NAU."
 
Trailing 51-23 at the half and by as much as 38 with 14:12 to play, the Lumberjacks never stopping battling evidenced by a 15-2 second half run. Junior Cameron Shelton started NAU's best stretch of the game with a thunderous dunk down the lane immediately before picking off a Gonzaga pass and laying it in on the other end.
 
Shelton's consecutive plays led to a Gonzaga timeout, and he later drilled his third three of the game in the run. Shelton, who finished with 20 points, concluded the run with an and-1 that cut NAU's deficit to 79-56 with 4:17 remaining.
 
After shooting just 22.9 percent in the first half, NAU shot 54.5 percent after halftime to finish the game at a 35.1 percent clip. The Lumberjacks wrapped up the evening making 20-of-57 from the floor and was 13-of-18 at the free throw line.
 
Redshirt junior Jay Green, coming off a 15-point game in NAU's last game against Denver, snapped Gonzaga's game-opening 10-0 run with a jumper and scored the Lumberjacks' first eight points of the game. However, the Bulldogs knocked down nine of their first 12 shots and raced out to a 22-5 lead through the first six minutes.
 
Gonzaga shot 51.4 percent in the first period in building its 28-point halftime advantage and wound up shooting an even 50 percent (32-of-64) for the contest. The Bulldogs, second in the country in both scoring offense (95.1) and field goal percentage (.557), were held below their season averages.
 
On his birthday, Shelton extended his career-long 20-point scoring streak to four games while totaling a season-high nine rebounds. Shelton was 7-for-18 from the field, 3-of-7 behind the arc and made all three of his free throw attempts.
 
Green posted his second straight double-figure scoring effort with 12 points on an efficient 5-for-9 shooting night. Redshirt junior Luke Avdalovic registered eight points and redshirt freshman Carson Towt recorded six points and six rebounds.
 
As part of its strong second half, NAU outrebounded Gonzaga by one, 15-14, in the second after the Bulldogs dominated the glass by a 30-17 margin in the first 20 minutes. Still, Gonzaga outrebounded NAU, 44-32, for the game and held a massive advantage down low with a 44-24 edge in points in the paint.
 
With non-conference play officially behind them, the 'Jacks will resume conference play versus Idaho in Moscow, Idaho Thursday night at 7 p.m. MST. NAU will conclude its week – and open up the 2021 calendar year – with its second game at Idaho on Saturday afternoon.
 
To stay up to date with the NAU men's basketball team, follow the Lumberjacks on Twitter and Instagram.