FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 29, 2020) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team only shot 31.7 percent – its second-lowest clip of the season – in a 63-57 loss to Montana State on Saturday in the Walkup Skydome. The Lumberjacks' offensive woes, which also included a season-low 4-for-27 performance behind the arc, spoiled Senior Day in front of their second-largest home attendance of the season of 1,164.
"Nobody tries to miss a shot, but at the end of the day, to win games you have to make shots," said interim head coach
Shane Burcar. "We were chasing the whole night and we couldn't get back into it. I thought we had good energy and we took good shots. Unfortunately we had some guys who weren't making shots tonight, but I would tell them to keep shooting the basketball."
The Lumberjacks (16-12, 10-9 Big Sky) recognized their two seniors
Brooks DeBisschop and
Chris Bowling, both four-year 'Jacks who have been instrumental in this season's turnaround in the program, prior to their last home game in the Dome. DeBisschop finished with nine points and 10 rebounds while Bowling recorded one rebound and one assist.
"For four years,
Chris Bowling and
Brooks DeBisschop have lived here in Flagstaff and represented themselves, their families and the university in the best way," Burcar said. "They're both going to have a degree in May and I'm very disappointed that we couldn't get it done for those guys today. I really appreciate those two young men."
NAU fought and battled, trimming an 18-point deficit with 3:45 left to play in the game down to the final margin of six. The Lumberjacks trailed 63-45 following three Bobcat free throws before they made one final push beginning with a jumper by sophomore
Cameron Shelton, who finished with a game-high 21 points. An and-1 by DeBisschop and a three-pointer by sophomore
Luke Avdalovic brought NAU within eight at 63-55 with 1:45 remaining.
Despite back-to-back turnovers and Montana State missing the front end of two one-and-ones, NAU could not capitalize on the offensive end with the exception of one final transition layup by Shelton in the final minute.
"We competed but we just didn't make any shots," DeBisschop said. "For a team like us who can really shoot the ball, it was really unacceptable. That's disappointing, and you have to give credit to them because they're a good team, but we don't feel like we played up to our standard tonight."
NAU's shooting struggles began from the tip with NAU missing 10 of its first 11 shots as Montana State got out to a 10-2 lead. The Lumberjacks missed their first 11 attempts from long distance before Avdalovic connected on NAU's first three with 5:58 left in the first half.
The Lumberjacks eventually went into halftime trailing 30-21, tied for the fewest points in a half this season, after shooting just 25 percent from the floor in the first half. NAU's offense picked up in the second half at a 37.5 percent clip, but the 'Jacks continued to struggle behind the arc.
Still, NAU remained in striking distance until a 17-8 Montana State opened up a 55-39 lead with 8:44 remaining. The deficit sat at 18 with just under four minutes on the clock where NAU made its run before ultimately falling short.
With DeBisschop and Shelton both pulling down 10 rebounds apiece – the latter which gave Shelton his third double-double of the season – NAU outrebounded Montana State by six, 39-33.
Shelton also was responsible for four of NAU's seven assists to add to his stat line of 21 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
DeBisschop's 10 rebounds also lifted him into seventh on the Lumberjacks' all-time list. At 687 for his career, he is now just 17 rebounds away from tying current NAU assistant coach
Gaellan Bewernick for sixth all-time.
The Lumberjacks will head out to Portland State for their regular season finale next Thursday. Tip-off from the Viking Pavilion is set for 8 p.m. MST.
