Cone Leads NAU Men’s Basketball Past CSU Bakersfield in Wire-to-Wire 74-64 Win

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 18, 2021) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team never trailed in a wire-to-wire 74-64 victory in the Rolle Activity Center on Thursday over CSU Bakersfield, moving to 2-2 this season. Led by sophomore Jalen Cone's 18, four Lumberjacks scored in double-figures for the second consecutive game, as NAU posted its second straight win.
 
"We want to keep playing NAU Basketball," said head coach Shane Burcar. "We don't want to slow the game down. We want to get up at 7,000 feet. At the end of the game, the last five minutes, we have a couple of things to clean up. We missed some free throws, but I'm happy with the way we played. Take away the free throws, I thought we had a pretty dominant performance."
 
NAU overcame a -7 margin in the turnover column – and subsequent -11 in points off turnovers – with massive advantages behind the arc, at the charity stripe and on second chance opportunities. With redshirt junior Nik Mains and redshirt sophomore Keith Haymon each connecting on three triples, the Lumberjacks made 9-of-22 (40.9 percent) behind the arc compared to just three makes by the Roadrunners.
 
NAU also made 19 free throws, six each by Cone and redshirt sophomore Ezekiel Richards, to seven by CSU Bakersfield, and with a 39-34 rebounding advantage, the 'Jacks outscored the visitors by eight (13-5) on second chance points. The Roadrunners entered the game with a +6.0 rebounding margin through their first two games.
 
"To beat Bakersfield +5, we are very happy with that," Burcar said. "Our effort was outstanding. Our plus-minus in rebounding is so important to us. We were even with the Pac-12 and won the other night, so through four games we're better in the rebounding margin."
 
Sophomore Isaiah Lewis scored on a putback on the game's opening possession, which proved to be a sign of things to come. On the following trip down the court, Cone knocked down his first of two treys and then converted a pair of free throws during a 7-0 opening run by NAU in the game's first 90 seconds.
 
After CSU Bakersfield got within one, 9-8, seven and a half minutes into the contest, NAU went on an 8-0 run, featuring threes by Mains and Haymon, to push its lead out to 17-8. The Lumberjacks' advantage hit double-digits for the first time at 27-14 following thunderous dunks by Haymon and Richards with 6:53 remaining in the first half and they eventually took a 44-28 lead into the locker room on a three-pointer from freshman Wynton Brown.
 
With Cone scoring 13 of his 18 points prior to halftime, NAU shot 52 percent from the field and made all 11 of its free throw attempts in building the sizeable lead through 20 minutes.
 
After battling foul trouble that limited him to under eight minutes in the first half, redshirt freshman Carson Towt was a force in the second half in ensuring the Lumberjacks would not allow the Roadrunners to peck away at the deficit.
 
Finishing the night with eight points, nine rebounds and a career-high six assists, Towt recorded all eight of his points and all but one rebound after halftime. NAU maintained a double-digit lead for all but one second in the last 20 minutes with CSU Bakersfield getting as close as nine in the final moments before Brown split a trip to the free throw line to provide the decisive margin.
 
Cone had his best scoring game as a Lumberjack so far while also adding five assists and three rebounds to his line. Haymon and Mains posted identical lines of 11 points and six rebounds, and Richards netted 10 points off the bench buoyed by a 6-for-7 effort at the line.
 
The 'Jacks shot 48.9 percent overall from the deck and held the Roadrunners down to 41.5 percent shooting in winning their second straight head-to-head meeting with CSU Bakersfield.
 
"I was told (CSU Bakersfield) was very similar to the type of team we'll see in the Big Sky and they were physical from the jump," Cone said. "This was a great game to have under our belt against a physical team that is skilled and who can not only shoot, but get to the cup as well."
 
After going 2-0 at home this week, the Lumberjacks will head out to South Padre Island to take part in the UTRGV South Padre Island Battle on the Beach. NAU will face the host UTRGV on Saturday at 12 p.m. MST before the two teams quickly turn around to meet again next Monday in the Rolle Activity Center.
 
To stay up to date with the NAU men's basketball team, follow the Lumberjacks on Twitter and Instagram.