FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 13, 2020) – Northern Colorado blitzed the Northern Arizona men's basketball team with a 20-3 run to start the second half on their way to an 84-54 victory in the Walkup Skydome on Thursday. The Bears hit six of their 14 triples in the first six minutes of the second half as they dropped the Lumberjacks' record to 13-10 overall and 7-7 in conference play.
"We learned a lot tonight; a lot of it is intuition," said interim head coach
Shane Burcar. "We have to fix some things and it's about guys wanting to compete. You get beat by 30 sometimes, but the way we got beat tonight was unacceptable. We'll move on and Saturday will be a new day."
The Bears were white-hot from behind the arc, shooting 14-for-25 at a 56 percent clip. Northern Colorado got 42 points alone on three-point shots as NAU had its lowest scoring game since its season opener at No. 21/17 Arizona. Northern Colorado shot 56.9 percent overall while NAU shot only 40 percent for the game.
In addition to its distinct three-point advantage, Northern Colorado also outscored NAU, 38-20, in the paint. The Bears outrebounded the 'Jacks, 34-28, and registered 20 assists with just seven turnovers. Northern Colorado's Jonah Radebaugh just missed out on a triple-double with 13 points, 12 assists and eight boards.
Seven and a half minutes into the game, the teams were tied at 10-10 before junior
Bernie Andre, who scored a team-high 11 points, drained a three-pointer to give NAU a brief 13-10 lead. From there, Northern Colorado went on a 7-0 run to move in front for good on the seventh and final lead change of the game.
Junior
Cameron Shelton cut the Bears' lead to 34-28 with just under a minute left in the first half before the visitors scored the final five points to take a 39-28 halftime lead.
Northern Colorado's massive run fueled by the long ball to open the second half put NAU in a 59-31 hole with 14:12 to play. Redshirt freshman
Keith Haymon buried two threes as part of a 10-2 Lumberjack run that brought the 'Jacks within 61-41 with 9:32 remaining on the clock, but they never got closer as the Bears led by as much as 34 points in the second half.
Andre was the lone Lumberjack in double-figures with 11 while senior
Brooks DeBisschop chipped in eight points and six boards. Haymon came off the bench to score a career-high nine points on a perfect 3-for-3 performance beyond the arc and freshman
Ajang Aguek recorded seven points and a career-high seven rebounds in reserve.
NAU's next opportunity to bounce back, and snap a two-game losing streak, will be Saturday versus Southern Utah at 4 p.m. in the Walkup Skydome.
