FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 7, 2023) – The Northern Arizona University men's basketball team hosted Montana State to a 69-54 loss at Findlay Toyota Court in Flagstaff, Ariz., this afternoon.
NAU's
Xavier Fuller scored the first basket, but Montana State scored the next 17-straight for a lead the Lumberjacks never could erase. The Bobcats shot 52.3 percent (23-44) on the day, holding Northern Arizona to 26.5 percent (13-49). Northern Arizona was able to trim the lead down to eight points in the second half but were held without a field goal for the final 9:48 of the contest.
Following today's decision, the Lumberjacks drop to 5-12 overall and 1-3 in Big Sky Conference play. Montana State, who beat NAU for the eighth-straight time, improves to 10-7 and 3-1.
Fuller led all players with a career-high 23 points. He was 7-for-16 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line while leading NAU with three steals and added four rebounds.
Jalen Cone added 12 points and four assists.
Carson Towt led the team with five rebounds.
Northern Arizona found success at the free throw line, making 24 of its 28 attempts to shoot 85.7 percent, but were held to 4-of-14 from three-point range. The Bobcats were 15-of-25 at the line (60%) and 8-of-18 from a distance.
"We got down 17-2 and 21 points was their biggest lead of the first half. I was surprised, I thought we had good shots but we didn't make them and we were stale on offense early. On the first play of the game, Xavier made a shot on the baseline to give us a 2-0 lead and before you know it, it was 17-2. One good thing was that we shot 28 free throws which got us back into the game at the end of the first half to get us within 16 points," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "The big part of the game was that we got it within eight points, and we had three or four possessions where we had good shots and could've gotten within five or six points, but we couldn't get over the next hump to really put some game pressure on Montana State. I give them credit, Jubrille Belo and Great Osobor shot five total field goals and Darius Brown II came through for them, RaeQuan Battle is a good player. They have depth, and that's why they're picked number one in the preseason and will be there at the end of the Big Sky season this year."
The Lumberjacks scored 34 seconds into the game and did not find another basket until the 11:33 mark when
Liam Lloyd drained a three-pointer, making it a 17-5 game. The Bobcats led by as many as 21 points in the first half, and despite a 6-0 NAU run, the Lumberjacks trailed 40-24 at the break. Northern Arizona shot just 24 percent in the first half compared to 59.3 percent for MSU.
Eager to put the first half behind them, the Lumberjacks came out and opened the second half on a 7-1 run with all of the points coming from Fuller, trimming the lead down to 41-31. A Bobcat triple put MSU back up by 14 points, but a triple by Cone with 9:48 to play put NAU back within reach, trailing 56-48.
After Fuller made a pair of free throws to make it an eight-point game once again, 60-52 with 4:39 left to play, NAU did not score again until a pair of
Jack Wistrcill free throws with 26 seconds remaining. The Bobcats went on a 9-0 run and held the Lumberjacks without a field goal for the final 9:48 of the game.
The Lumberjacks outscored MSU 30-to-29 in the second half, but still shot 29.2 percent during the frame compared to 41.2 percent for the Bobcats. Northern Arizona did force 17 turnovers, but were out-rebounded 38-to-27 and out-scored in the paint, 24-to-16.
Northern Arizona looks to bounce back next week at Portland State and at Sacramento State. The Lumberjacks take on the Vikings at 8 p.m. Mountain Standard time on Thursday, Jan. 12 before playing the Hornets on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. MST. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
