Shelton Reaches 1,000 Point Milestone in NAU’s 58-53 Loss to Montana State

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 23, 2021) – Montana State spoiled junior Cameron Shelton's milestone afternoon, slipping by the Northern Arizona men's basketball team for a 58-53 victory in the Rolle Activity Center on Saturday. The Bobcats (9-3, 6-0 Big Sky) scored eight of the final 10 points in the game to send the Lumberjacks to 4-11 overall and 3-6 in conference play.
 
NAU snagged its final lead, 51-50, with 2:30 left with redshirt freshman Carson Towt splitting a pair at the line, but Montana State closed on an 8-2 run the rest of the way to win its seventh straight game and keep its Big Sky record unblemished.
 
"I liked our compete level throughout the game," said head coach Shane Burcar. "We got down 7-0 and didn't flinch. The compete level was there for sure. At the end of the day, you have to make shots. We had a one-point lead and couldn't get a stop. We missed two layups and missed the front end of a one-and-one and to win games you have to make those shots."
 
Needing 16 points to reach a 1,000, Shelton cleared the mark with his 10th 20-point game of the season and second this weekend to become the 30th player in program history to join the club. Shelton led all scorers, but for the second consecutive game he was the only Lumberjack to reach double-figures.
 
Shelton also totaled five rebounds, four assists and tied a season-high with four of NAU's 10 steals.
 
Montana State quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Shelton scored his first five points to help NAU knot the game up at 7-7. The back-and-forth nature of the game – 12 lead changes and 13 ties in all – was apparent from there as neither team led by more than four points in the opening half.
 
Redshirt junior Luke Avdalovic put the Lumberjacks up 22-18 with four minutes left before half, and after the Bobcats eventually tied it at 25-25, the 'Jacks went into the intermission with a narrow 26-25 lead.
 
Offense was at a premium with both teams shooting under 40 percent in the first period, but play picked up in the second half particularly by the visitors, who shot 56.5 percent in the final 20 minutes.
 
Midway through the second half, the teams were still locked up at 40-40 and back-to-back buckets by Shelton gave the Lumberjacks a 48-46 edge with just under five minutes remaining. NAU answered each Montana State bucket and held its final lead, 51-50, following Towt's free throw, but went cold down the stretch.
 
Still, NAU had its share of opportunities, but trailing 52-51, NAU missed the front end of a one-and-one and could not convert two layups on consecutive possessions. The Bobcats scored on their next two possessions to extend their lead out to five points, and secured the weekend sweep in the process.
 
Montana State outshot NAU, 46 percent to 42 percent, for the game, but the Lumberjacks outrebounded the Bobcats, 33-30, with Towt and redshirt sophomore Keith Haymon each pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. For Haymon, that marked a new career-high.
 
NAU also outscored Montana State, 38-28, in the paint and once again limited the high-scoring Bobcats. Montana State entered the afternoon averaging 76.5 points per contest, and NAU wound up tying its season-low in points allowed.
 
The pivotal difference in the game came behind the arc. NAU was kept in check at just 1-of-7 – both being season-lows for three-pointers made and attempted – while Montana State knocked down six triples of its own.
 
The Lumberjacks will host Northern Colorado next Thursday at 6 p.m. in Rolle on the front half of a split home-and-home weekend with the Bears. The two teams will then travel to Greeley, Colo. for the week's second game next Saturday at 12 p.m.
 
To stay up to date with the NAU men's basketball team, follow the Lumberjacks on Twitter and Instagram.