PORTLAND, Ore. (March 5, 2020) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team struggled against Portland State's pressure defense, turning the ball over an uncharacteristic 17 times in an 80-66 loss Thursday night. The regular season ending defeat dropped the Lumberjacks to 16-13 overall and an even 10-10 mark in conference play.
"The press bothered us but we still had a game; we were down three with six minutes left in the game," said interim head coach
Shane Burcar. "It's one of those nights that if you're tough, you figure it out and go back to the drawing board. If you're going to cry a river, then you're not going to be very good. We're going to be tough and go up to Boise and try to make a run."
Coming into the evening, NAU only averaged 11.5 turnovers per game, but Portland State pressured NAU into its third-highest turnover count of the season – and most since Dec. 8 versus Omaha. Not only did the Vikings turn the 'Jacks over, they made them pay with a significant 28-12 scoring advantage off turnovers.
The Lumberjacks also did not help themselves at the line despite shooting eight more free throws than the Vikings. NAU was just 8-for-20 at the charity stripe, including a 1-for-7 showing in the first half. The Lumberjacks' 40 percent effort at the line was their second-lowest this season.
Sophomore
Cameron Shelton led the 'Jacks in defeat coming up just shy of his career-high in points and assists. Shelton posted game-highs of 27 points and eight assists to go along with six rebounds. Junior
Bernie Andre and senior
Brooks DeBisschop rounded out NAU's double-digit scorers with 17 and 10 points respectively.
After shooting 39.4 percent in the first half, NAU shot a blistering 59.1 percent in the second half. However, the Lumberjacks' strong second half shooting went for naught with the Vikings shooting 56.7 percent themselves after halftime. Furthermore, NAU turned the ball over 10 times in the second half alone leading Portland State to a plus-12 scoring margin off turnovers.
The 16-4 margin in points off turnovers accounted for the 12-point second half differential in Portland State's favor, preventing NAU from coming back from a slim 30-28 halftime deficit.
After NAU took the early 8-4 lead, Portland State forced an NAU timeout following a 10-3 run that put the 'Jacks down 19-13. A 6-0 Lumberjack run later in the half tied the score at 22-22 with six minutes to play until halftime.
NAU snagged a momentary 28-26 advantage on a second chance putback by Shelton, who led the 'Jacks with 10 points at the half, before Portland State scored the final four points to take a two-point, 30-28 halftime advantage.
Andre immediately nailed one of his three triples out of the half, moving NAU in front 31-30. Portland State followed with the next six points to take the lead for good, although the game was far from over even with the Vikings holding a 10-point lead at 59-49 with 9:21 remaining.
Sophomore
Luke Avdalovic's layup started a 7-0 NAU run – capped by a three from Shelton – that brought NAU within three, 59-56, in a two-minute span. After the teams traded points, the NAU deficit stood at 61-58 with 6:45 left only for Portland State to put the game away with an 11-2 run.
By the end of the run, the Vikings' lead ballooned to 72-60 with under four minutes on the clock and the 'Jacks never got closer than nine the rest of the game.
Buoyed by strong shooting in the second half, both teams wound up shooting close to 50 percent for the game. Portland State shot 49.2 percent overall while NAU's field goal percentage finished at 47.3. The Vikings made 10 threes to the Lumberjacks' six in addition to outrebounding NAU by one, 33-32.
"Everyone in the locker room is disappointed, but we can't overreact to tonight," Burcar said. "We have to prepare for whoever we play in the first round. Our goal is to make a nice run in March and that hasn't changed at all."
With the loss, NAU fell out of contention for a first round bye in the conference tournament and will play next Wednesday, March 11 in the first round as the No. 6 seed.
The Lumberjacks' opponent – either Idaho or Idaho State – will be determined following the league's final day of regular season games on Saturday. Tip-off for NAU's first round opener of the 2020 Big Sky Championship in Boise, Idaho will be approximately 1:30 p.m. Arizona time.
