FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 27, 2022) – Back at home for the first time in over a week, the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team played host to Abilene Christian in the team's first-ever meeting. The Lumberjacks held a one-point lead at the half, but wound up falling 92-82.
Jalen Cone had himself a day, scoring a career-high 38 points after making 7-of-13 from three-point range, tying a career-high. He went 11-of-22 from the field overall and was -9-for-10 from the free throw line, adding four rebounds and three assists. Thirty-eight points is sixth all-time on NAU's single-game scoring list.
With the loss, the Lumberjacks move to 2-6 overall while the Wildcats improve to 3-4.
Carson Towt (19 points) and
Xavier Fuller (10) were the other Lumberjacks in double figures. Towt earned his second double-double of the season, adding 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Both teams had 10 three-pointers each, with ACU shooting 56.7 percent compared to 48.3 percent for NAU. Abilene Christian shot 61.3 percent from the field in the second half and held the Lumberjacks to 48 percent.
"This was a very disappointing afternoon. I thought we've had a great week of prep for this game. At the end of the day when you give up 92 points, even though some were from fouls at the end, we had opportunities in the first and second half when were up five or seven points, but we couldn't get stops," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "I'm taking full responsibility for that. I have to dig deep and look at myself in the mirror and figure out how to get these problems solved."
Abilene Christian made its first three shots from the field to take an early 8-4 lead. The Lumberjacks then scored four quick points to tie the game 8-8. After the Wildcats used a 5-0 run to take a 16-11 lead,
Xavier Fuller hit a three-pointer to put the 'Jacks within two points.
Down 18-14,
Jalen Cone hit three-straight three pointers in 1:17 for a 9-0 run that gave NAU a 23-18 lead. The lead was short lived as ACU replied with a 7-0 run to retake a 25-23 advantage.
Oakland Fort snapped the run with a pair of free throws, moving the contest back in to a 25-25 tie and another 6-0 run by the Lumberjacks put them up 31-27 with less than five minutes to play. With under three minutes left to play in the half, the Wildcats hit a triple to put the game back into a 34-34 tie. At the half, the Lumberjacks held a narrow 40-39 lead. NAU shot 48 percent from the field while ACU shot 52 in the first half that featured six ties and six lead changes.
Cone came out on fire from three-point range again, making consecutive triples for a 6-0 run for a 48-41 lead. Another Cone layup, for an 8-0 run overall, gave NAU a 50-41 lead. The contest moved in to a 55-55 tie before the Wildcats started to breakaway and led 67-60 for their largest lead of the game. Cone's seventh three-pointer of the day cut ACU's lead down to 71-65 with eight minutes remaining. However, Abilene Christian made five-of-seven field goal attempts and used a 6-0 run to pull ahead 82-68.
The Wildcats held the Lumberjacks to no field goals for nearly four minutes in the second half, sealing a 92-82 victory.
NAU lost the rebounding battle, 35-to-32, and were outscored 46-to-30 in the paint. Both teams were equal with 10 turnovers each, but ACU scored 17 points off of NAU's compared to eight points for the Lumberjacks.
The Lumberjacks are back in the Rolle Activity Center on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time against Ottawa.
