MISSOULA, Mont. (January 16, 2021) – Down, but never out, the Northern Arizona men's basketball rallied for a 62-58 come-from-behind road win over Montana on Saturday to snap a three-game losing streak. The Lumberjacks (4-9, 3-4 Big Sky) closed the game on a 12-0 run and held the Grizzlies (6-7, 2-4 Big Sky) scoreless for the final five and a half minutes to earn their first win in Dahlberg Arena since 2014.
"It was a gutsy win for sure," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "We couldn't put the ball in the basket and had seven turnovers in the first half, and we only had two turnovers in the second half. Montana is a good defensive team and we scored 43 points in the second half. I couldn't be happier for our guys right now."
NAU, which snapped a 10-game skid to Montana last season, has now split the last four meetings with its rivals from Missoula. With Saturday's win, the Lumberjacks posted their first road win over the Grizzlies since a 73-65 victory on Jan. 2, 2014. NAU had previously dropped seven straight to Montana on the Grizzlies' floor.
Although junior
Cameron Shelton was held to just 15 points, he received help from a number of teammates most notably redshirt junior
Nik Mains. Mains, who missed his first career game with an injury on Thursday, returned in a big way with a career-high 17 points – 12 coming after halftime. Mains shot 6-of-9 from the field and for the fourth straight game, connected on three treys.
Redshirt freshman
Carson Towt also netted a new career-best with 13 points on an identical 6-of-9 line. Redshirt sophomore
Keith Haymon knocked down a pair of huge threes in the second half and finished with eight points.
"I wasn't as efficient as I'd like to be in terms of shooting the ball, but when those guys step up and make plays, that's huge," Shelton said. "They knocked down big shots today and grabbed some big offensive rebounds and that carried us over the top."
The Lumberjacks trailed 34-17 in the final minute of the first half, and the 17 points marks NAU's largest deficit overcome in a victory since the 'Jacks rallied back from an 18-point deficit to ultimately defeat Eastern Washington, 83-74, on Feb. 16, 2011.
NAU opened the second half with a quick 8-3 burst, which cut its halftime deficit down to 37-27 within the first two minutes. The Lumberjacks' next run was only their second largest of the second half as Mains scored five straight points and Shelton cleaned up his own miss with a putback to cap a 14-4 surge that pushed NAU within one, 45-44, with 11:36 remaining.
Montana, riding a three-game winning streak, answered with three triples during a 13-6 response that extended its advantage back out to 58-50 with 5:32 to play. However, the Grizzlies missed their final five shots from the field and was held scoreless the rest of the way while the 'Jacks completed their comeback.
Mains pulled NAU within one once again, 58-57, with 2:57 remaining with his third three of the game and Shelton converted a pair of free throws two possessions later to put the Lumberjacks over the top for good with a 1:50 left.
After two straight empty Montana possessions, Towt hauled in a crucial offensive rebound to give NAU a new possession, which resulted in a pair of Mains free throws with 10.2 seconds remaining and a 61-58 Lumberjack lead. Montana did not draw iron on potential game-tying three, and sophomore
Isaiah Lewis concluded the game's scoring by splitting a pair at the line with 0.7 seconds remaining.
Montana shot 53.8 percent in the first half, but fell back to just a 36.8 percent clip in the second. The Grizzlies finished the game at 46.7 percent – a tad better than the Lumberjacks' 43.9 percent clip – but the 'Jacks held significant edges in a number of specialty categories.
NAU outmuscled Montana in the paint, 34-24, including a commanding 22-6 margin in the second half. The 'Jacks was also +5 on the offensive glass which led to a 13-3 advantage in second chance points, and most importantly was +5 in the turnover column resulting in an 18-6 edge off miscues.
In particular, NAU turned the ball over seven times in the first 10 minutes of the game and just twice more before the final buzzer.
With an early morning tip-off, play started out slow as there were just three combined made field goals in the first five minutes. NAU snagged its first lead, 8-6, with 12 minutes left in the opening period before Montana followed with 11 consecutive points. After Mains put a temporary halt to Montana's run with a deep three to bring NAU within 17-11, the Grizzlies scored 15 of the next 19 points en route to a 34-19 halftime lead.
"Down the stretch, we showed an incredible amount of toughness," Shelton said. "We didn't start out too well and to get down like that at Montana and to not only come back, but to take the lead and sustain that lead is huge. That is a true sign of the type of team we have and how tough we really are."
The Lumberjacks now carry the momentum of a potential season-turning victory back to Flagstaff where they will begin a season-long three-game homestand beginning next Thursday versus Montana State at 6 p.m. in the Rolle Activity Center.
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