Cone’s Offensive Show in the Skydome Leads NAU Past Sacramento State, 70-65

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 24, 2022) – With sophomore Jalen Cone leading the way and several Lumberjacks coming up with timely plays, the Northern Arizona men's basketball team earned a 70-65 victory over Sacramento State on Monday. Cone erupted for a career-high 36 points, the most by a Big Sky player this season, to move the Lumberjacks to 7-11 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
 
Cone's 36 points are not only the highest single-game point total in the conference this season, but the most by a Lumberjack since Cameron Jones – NAU's all-time leading scorer – poured in 37 points versus Idaho State on Jan. 6, 2011. Cone shot 10-for-18 from the field, 5-of-10 from behind the arc and 11-for-12 at the free throw line in tying the ninth-best scoring performance in school history.
 
"I put in a lot of work and it's all props to my teammates," Cone said. "Without the big games they had and the way they stepped up today, I couldn't have the game I had. It's all props to them."
 
Along with a 33-point game earlier this season at South Dakota, Cone is the first Lumberjack with multiple 30-point outings in a season since JoJo Anderson in 2017-18.
 
Although Cone was the only Lumberjack in double-figures, a number of his teammates made huge shots, particularly during a 16-2 game-altering run. With NAU down 39-35 with 13:46 left in the game, Cone scored the first 10 points of the run with nine coming on a set of threes. The run was capped by treys from redshirt junior Nik Mains and junior Mason Stark, which gave NAU a 51-41 advantage with 9:21 remaining.
 
After the Hornets (5-10, 1-7 Big Sky) trimmed the lead in half to 57-52 with five minutes to play, freshman Jayden Jackson, who played a career-high 22 minutes, knocked down a big jumper to extend NAU's lead. On the following possession, Jackson drew a charge and which led to Stark connecting on another triple to double up the Hornets yet again.
 
Regaining a 10-point lead, Cone accounted for NAU's final eight points on a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line in the final 2:08 to put the Lumberjacks' victory on ice.
 
"I'm really happy for our guys," said head coach Shane Burcar. "Stating the obvious, Jalen Cone was special tonight. […] I think he's just scratching the surface on being a great point guard. I could talk about a lot of guys tonight."
 
Cone's big second half, scoring 22 of his 36 points after halftime, was part of a complete turnaround following an uneven first 20 minutes. Although NAU went into halftime holding a narrow 27-25 lead, it was far from perfect.
 
The Lumberjacks shot 39.3 percent in the first half and hit on just 4-of-16 shots from behind the arc. Additionally, NAU had just five assists to 11 turnovers. However, the 'Jacks outrebounded the Hornets by five and forced nine Sacramento State miscues to offset their own struggles.
 
"If you're not making shots, and it happens, the game is 8-8 or 10-8 versus getting beat 16-8 because you can't make a shot," Burcar said. "That's a sign of a good team. It's a game in the 20s at halftime. It's a sign that our defense continues to get better and our last five halves have been really good against good offensive teams."
 
In contrast, NAU shot 46.2 percent in the second half, and closed at 42.6 percent for the game, and made 6-of-11 attempts from long range. The Lumberjacks also had 10 assists to three turnovers after halftime with only one turnover in the final 15 minutes of the game.
 
Redshirt freshman Carson Towt pulled down a game-high eight rebounds with six coming on the offensive glass as NAU turned 11 offensive rebounds into a key 9-4 edge in second chance points. The Lumberjacks outrebounded the Hornets, 34-31 overall.
 
Towt also led the team with six assists to go with six points, as Stark and Jackson both matched that point total off the bench to lead a whopping 18-3 bench point advantage. Jackson also added three assists in a breakout performance.
 
After playing four games in eight days, NAU will have some time before the Lumberjacks close out their homestand in the Walkup Skydome on Saturday at 2 p.m. versus Portland State.
 
To stay up to date with the NAU men's basketball team, follow the Lumberjacks on Twitter and Instagram.