FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 17, 2022) – In their return to the court after a 12-day layoff, the Northern Arizona men's basketball team held on for a thrilling 74-72 victory over Idaho on Monday to even their Big Sky record to 2-2 on the season. Behind 24 points from both redshirt junior
Nik Mains and sophomore
Jalen Cone, the Lumberjacks posted their second consecutive victory overall and improved to 6-9.
"I want to give credit to two things," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "Our crowd was awesome and without them, we don't win this game. They carried us through the last four minutes, and obviously without our young men, we had to figure out a way to win the game. Our players came through and they had great poise."
Cone scored the Lumberjacks' final eight points of the game to secure NAU's first win in the Walkup Skydome in 23 months. He started his eight-point victory-clinching surge with a key three-pointer to help stem the tide following a wild sequence that gave Idaho five free throws in a single possession.
With NAU leading 66-63 with under two minutes remaining, Idaho's Mikey Dixon was fouled on a three-point attempt. Coupled with a pair of technical fouls on NAU's bench, Dixon received five freebies and knocked them all down to shift the lead into the Vandals' favor.
Out of a timeout, Cone responded with a three and then answered an Idaho bucket with another bucket of his own in the 12th and final lead change of the evening. Leading 71-70 with under a minute left, NAU never trailed again and survived the potential momentum-shifting sequence after Idaho missed a would-be game-winner before the buzzer.
"Coach said it best when we came into the huddle after the free throws," Cone said. "We had something to prove. Everyone is always counting NAU out. We had to fight and have the determination to win and that's what we did."
Cone finished the game with 24 points – his seventh 20-point game of the season – and also added team-highs of five assists and two steals. Mains matched Cone's 24 points, which also equaled a career-high set 12 days ago against Embry-Riddle, knocking down 9-of-14 from the field and drilling four treys.
However, Cone and Mains were far from the only contributors. Redshirt freshman
Carson Towt hauled in 14 rebounds – his seventh double-digit rebounding effort this season – as NAU outrebounded Idaho, 44-40. Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore
Ezekiel Richards came up one block shy of tying the school record for the second time this season, totaling five of NAU's eight blocked shots.
After shooting 42.4 percent in the first half, NAU shot 46.7 percent in the second half to close out at 44.4 percent. The Lumberjacks held the Vandals to just 36.4 percent shooting, including 31.4 percent after halftime, and committed a season-low seven turnovers.
"Each possession, it was all about us," Richards said. "That's how we were able to overcome our scoring slumps or when we were missing shots. We focused on the next possession and focused on finishing out this game."
NAU jumped out to a 5-0 lead, scoring on its first two possessions, before going scoreless over a five-minute stretch. The 'Jacks eventually opened up an eight-point lead midway through the first half, only for the Vandals to tie it at 19-19. The first half swung back and forth with six total lead changes, but it would be the Lumberjacks who would snag a 35-33 halftime edge on a buzzer-beater by redshirt sophomore
Keith Haymon.
The Lumberjacks once again gained some separation in the second half, leading by nine points on three occasions including once following a monstrous dunk by Richards. The last of those nine-point advantages came on a Haymon three to make it 59-50 with 8:18 remaining, and despite the Vandals (3-13, 0-6 Big Sky) ultimately closing the gap, the 'Jacks trailed for all but two possessions the rest of the way.
"If you're going to win championships and if you're going to win games like tonight, you have to be tough," Burcar said. "I loved our mannerisms and our poise and we dealt with it. We had to figure out a way to win with this hand. Idaho is a good basketball team and is going to win more games in this league than people realize, and I'm really impressed with our toughness."
The Lumberjacks will host Montana State on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Montana on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Walkup Skydome as they continue their extended homestand later this week.
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