MALIBU, Calif. (December 3, 2022) - In its first of two-straight games in the Golden State, the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team played at Pepperdine this evening, falling 88-69.
Following tonight's loss, the Lumberjacks drop to 3-7 overall while the Waves, out of the West Coast Conference, improve to 5-2.
Northern Arizona trailed by just two points at the half, but were outscored 47-30 in the second half. Turnovers troubled the Lumberjacks, as they committed 14 turnovers that turned into 36 points for the Waves. The Waves were also on fire behind the arc, shooting 50 percent after making 12-of-24. In all, Pepperdine shot 52 percent from the field (33-63), holding NAU to 39 percent (24-61).
Liam Lloyd led the Lumberjacks with 13 points, making 5-of-8 from the field.
Jalen Cone was the other player in double figures, adding 10 points.
Carson Towt came up just short of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds, also adding two assists.
"I'm disappointed, but I'm going to keep my head up, and that's what I told our guys in the locker room. I think the glaring thing against the last three Division I opponents that we've had is that we've give up 91, 92, and 88 points. We're going to have to make some changes and figure things out, because that's where the glaring weakness is," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "Early in the game, we had a five-point lead and before you knew it, we were down eight-to-seven. I think we have to start with us and our defense."
Northern Arizona jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to a second-chance layup by Towt and a three-pointer by Cone. The lead extended to 7-2 before Pepperdine found its footing with two quick three-pointers to take an 8-7 lead. The lead did not last long, as Lloyd drained a triple to put NAU back ahead 10-8 by the first media timeout.
After a
Jack Wistrcill three-pointer put NAU up 13-9, the Waves strung together a 9-0 run for their largest lead, to that point, of 21-15. Towt strung together a three-point play followed by a layup, but another 6-0 run by Pepperdine made it a 30-20 game with less than seven minutes to play in the first half.
The Lumberjacks trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but a quick 5-0 run that included a three-pointer by Trenton McLaughlin and a layup by
Oakland Fort helped NAU make it a two-point contest, 38-36, with under two minutes to play. At the half, Northern Arizona trailed by just two points, 41-39.
Northern Arizona was held to 37 percent from the field in the first half compared to 47 percent from Pepperdine. The Waves were hot behind the arc, making seven triples while NAU made four. Northern Arizona crashed the boards and grabbed 24 rebounds compared to 17 for the Waves in the first 20 minutes.
Out of the break,
Nik Mains made consecutive free throws to tie the contest 41-41. A Lloyd triple gave NAU the 44-41 lead back before the teams moved into a 46-46 tie. From there, the Waves used a brief 5-0 run to retake a 51-46 lead. The lead did not last long, as another triple by McLaughlin sparked a 5-0 run by NAU to tie the game once again, 51-51. After a 7-0 run, the Waves led 67-55 by the midway point of the second half.
Pepperdine went on a 10-0 run to lead 77-57 and the deficit proved to be too large for NAU to erase in the 88-69 loss. The Waves shot 58 percent from the field in the second half and forced eight NAU turnovers.
In all, Northern Arizona had 11 assists on 24 made field goals and made seven of their 23 three-point attempts. The Lumberjacks out-rebounded Pepperdine, 38-to-34 and outscored the Waves' bench, 38-to-32. Pepperdine had four blocks compared to zero to NAU, had 19 assists, and had 17 fastbreak points to NAU's four. In the paint, the Waves had the 38-to-32 edge.
The Lumberjacks now prepare to face another West Coast Conference opponent on Tuesday, Dec. 6 when they travel to Stockton, Calif., to face Pacific at 8 p.m. Mountain Standard time on the WCC Network.
Â
