PHOENIX, Ariz. (November 17, 2023) – The Lumberjacks (1-3) committed 22 turnovers against the Mastodons on Friday afternoon, falling 77-67 in the opening game of the Arizona Tip-Off while Purdue Fort Wayne closed out the game on a 16-2 run.
Four Lumberjacks finished with double digits for the Jacks as
Oakland Fort was just one point away from his career high of 15,
Trent McLaughlin finished with 14 as well while
Jayden Jackson netted 11 and
Rockwell Reynolds posted 10.
The Jacks started things off with back-to-back forced turnovers for the Mastodons as
Jayden Jackson was quickly credited with a steal moving back up the court. Nearly three minutes into play the Jacks found their first points of the game as
Rockwell Reynolds found a lane for the layup in the freshman's first-ever start.
Purdue Fort Wayne responded with a 10-0 run led by Quinton Morton-Robertson and Corey Hadnot II who both posted 5 points for the 12-4 lead.
Isaiah Kai checked in to the game and put NAU back on the board with a ten-foot jumper to cut the lead to six.
Bringing the Jacks back within four,
Liam Lloyd knocked down his first three-pointer with room on the right side of the arc with just under ten remaining in the first half. Heading into the under-eight media timeout, the Jacks cut the lead in half just down by two with a layup from Jackson under the basket. Jackson tied the game up at 21 coming out of the timeout with a similar drive and layup to the rim.
Trent McLaughlin checked back into the game for the Jacks and immediately picked up a steal, followed by a fastbreak layup. McLaughlin picked up his third steal of the game down the stretch and drained a three to put NAU up by four with four minutes remaining, 28-24.
The Mastodons closed out the first half on a 7-0 run to lead 35-33 at the break. Reynolds led the Jacks with eight points while going 3-3 from the field. The Jacks shot 46.4 percent from the field as a team while taking the edge in three-point shooting, going 3-9 while Purdue Fort Wayne shot 48.1 percent from the field and 4-13 from beyond the arc. Morton-Robinson recorded 13 points in the first half with all but one three-pointers coming from the redshirt senior.
Jackson quickly tied things up coming out of the break, picking up a rebound and driving all the way for the layup. The Jacks had a three-minute scoring drought while
Ryan Abelman checked in and got the offensive board following with the put-back to bring the Jacks back within three, 42-39 Mastodons led with 15:18 remaining in the game.
The Mastodons responded with a 7-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game of 10, forcing the Jacks to take a timeout.
Oakland Fort drained a three to cut Purdue Fort Wayne's lead to seven out of the timeout. McLaughlin followed up with a fourteen-foot jumper and a fast-break three-pointer to cut the lead to four as the Jacks looked to make the comeback.
Lloyd knocked down his second three-pointer with under nine minutes on the clock to bring the Jacks within four after the Mastodons jumped out to a ten-point lead for the second time in the game. An
Oakland Fort steal led to the Jackson's fifth field goal of the game to put the Jacks within two, 57-55. The Jacks forced a scoreless three and a half minutes while Fort drove for back-to-back layups for the 59-57 lead.
Still scoreless for just under five minutes while the Jacks went on a 15-0 run, the Mastodons were forced to take the timeout with 5:41 remaining. Jalen Jackson ended the Jacks run with a shot at the line, followed by a three-pointer from the offensive rebound, cutting the Jacks lead to one.
Coming out of the final media timeout, McLaughlin knocked down his third from beyond the arc to extend NAU's lead at 65-61. Purdue Fort Wayne jumped out on a 6-0 run for the two-point lead, forcing the Jacks into a timeout. The Mastodons closed the game out with a 16-2 run in the final three minutes of play.
The Lumberjacks will now take on VMI (1-3) for the first time in program history tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. MST at Desert Diamond Arena. VMI fell to South Dakota on Friday in a 85-81 loss for the Keydets. VMI is led by Brennan Watkins who has 64 points this season, averaging 25 minutes on the floor while shooting 47.7 percent from the field. Watkins tabbed a career high against South Dakota with 27 points and five three-pointers.
The Keydets shot 47.5 percent from the field on Friday, tabbing 37 rebounds and a season-high five steals. VMI has struggled with turnovers this season, averaging 14.5 per game while only having 16 steals total through four games.
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