FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 15, 2020) – Behind their biggest scoring half in two months, the Northern Arizona men's basketball team put away Southern Utah on Saturday, 82-69, and earned a crucial victory in the Walkup Skydome. Sophomore
Cameron Shelton scored a game-high 26 points and senior
Brooks DeBisschop added a career-high 21 points in the win as NAU (14-10, 8-7 Big Sky) got back into the top five of the conference standings.
"Thursday was so uncharacteristic for us," said interim head coach
Shane Burcar. "Credit to our guys for bouncing back Thursday night in the locker room, Friday at practice and today in pregame. It's all about effort. Effort doesn't guarantee you success, but it gives you a good chance. All the way through today and give credit to Southern Utah because it was back-and-forth. I loved how we executed down the stretch."
NAU moved past its 30-point loss to Northern Colorado on Thursday by posting a big second half performance, led by 31 combined points from Shelton and DeBisschop, to pull away from Southern Utah.
Shelton scored 10 of NAU's 12 points in a critical 12-4 run over a four-minute stretch to break open what was a two-point Lumberjack lead, 53-51, with 10:44 remaining in the game. By the end of the time Shelton made two free throws, as part of his career-best 10-for-10 showing at the stripe, with 6:30 left, NAU's lead was pushed out to 65-55. The Lumberjacks' lead never dipped below six the rest of the game.
NAU shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and was near-perfect at the line, making 17-of-18, after halftime. The Lumberjacks made a season-high 27-of-30 free throws at a 90 percent clip.
With just four turnovers in the game – one shy of the school record of three versus Nevada 37 years ago in 1983 – the 'Jacks maximized their possessions even when their shots were not falling in the first half (10-for-27, 37 percent).
"Taking care of the ball is important for every team, but especially ours since we have such good shooters," Shelton said. "When we turn the ball over, we take the ball away from them. It's important for us to get as many shots up as possible because even if we're missing, those numbers will balance out by playing the percentages."
NAU's exceptional free throw shooting – 10-for-12 – in the first half kept the Lumberjacks in the game going into halftime as the Thunderbirds led by only one, 35-34, despite Southern Utah shooting 51.9 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
In the first half alone, there were 15 lead changes and eight ties as the teams jockeyed for the lead. Neither team led for by more than three points the entire first half as NAU weathered the storm with three Southern Utah players reaching double-figure scoring by halftime.
A 9-0 Lumberjack run gave the Blue & Gold a 53-47 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game, but the Thunderbirds cut it to a two-point deficit a minute later.
Shelton started the game-changing NAU surge with a jumper and junior
Cameron Satterwhite, who finished with 16 points, brought the crowd to their feet with a breakaway dunk off a steal on the following possession to put NAU back up by six, 57-51.
After Southern Utah closed the deficit from 10 to six at 69-63 with three minutes to play, Shelton and DeBisschop put in consecutive buckets to push NAU out front once again by 10 with 2:05 on the clock to halt any hopes of a Southern Utah rally.
NAU outscored Southern Utah, 48-34, to erase its one-point halftime deficit. The 48 points were the Lumberjacks' most in a half since they scored 52 in the second half in their win at Utah Valley on Dec. 14.
DeBisschop recorded 10 rebounds to go with his new career-high of 21 points in his team-leading fifth double-double of the season. With DeBisschop leading the way, NAU held a 34-29 advantage on the glass.
The 'Jacks will be back on the road next week at Idaho on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. MST and Eastern Washington next Saturday at 3 p.m. MST.
