PHOENIX, Ariz. (November 18, 2023) – Four Lumberjacks tab career-highs in 78-69 victory to VMI to close out the inaugural Arizona Tip-Off for NAU.
"Yesterday was disheartening, but to come back 17 hours later and play the way we did shows the character of our guys in that locker room," head coach
Shane Burcar said.
Looking to flip the switch and minimize turnovers, the Jacks quickly forced three on VMI to start things off in the Arizona Tip-Off finale for NAU. The first four points of the game for the Lumberjacks came off Keydet turnovers.
Tyran Cook jumped the Keydets out to a 10-4 lead with five points himself, sinking a three-pointer ahead of the first media timeout.
Jayden Jackson quickly responded with a pull-up jumper at the top of the key, narrowing the margin to four.
At the 12-minute mark, the Jacks had forced six VMI turnovers, while only committing two.
Carson Basham checked into the game and made some noise defensively, forcing one of the Keydets turnovers alongside a two-minute VMI scoring drought, while picking up a layup.
A strong point for the Keydets was rebounding as VMI was outrebounding the Jacks 12-2 with 11 minutes remaining in the half. A technical foul on VMI's Taeshaud Jackson kickstarted
Trent McLaughlin's shooting as the junior knocked down both free throws and drained a three-shot to put NAU on top by one.
Coming out of the under-eight break, the Jacks found themselves on an 11-0 run while the Keydets went scoreless for nearly three minutes. The Jacks begin to find some rhythm, closing the rebound margin to 17-9 with Basham picking up three himself. Jackson was sent to the line with just over six minutes on the clock, giving the Jacks a 25-20 lead.
Coming out of their scoring drought, VMI went five for six from the field to tie things up at 28 with three and a half minutes left in the half. McLaughlin's second three of the game put the Jacks up with a 38-33 at the break.
The Jacks went 7-10 from the line in the first half while VMI went 1-3. NAU shot 43.8 percent in comparison to the Keydets 45.5 percentage from the field. VMI led the first half box score in rebounds 22-16.
Basham checked in for the Jacks at the 17-minute mark, quickly earning his season-high eight rebound. Eyeing another career-high game, McLaughlin put NAU up by two with a driving layup to the basket for sixteen points, followed by a steal down the court, his second of the game.
While rebounding remained a struggle for the Jacks, they made up for it on forced turnovers, forcing six in the first eight minutes of the half while only committing one inside the paint.
The Jacks jumped out to an eight-point lead highlighted by a
Liam Lloyd to Basham fast-break layup, while holding the Keydets scoreless for three and a half minutes. The Jacks went on to hold VMI to zero field goals for five minutes while Basham scored his eleventh points followed by a
Diego Campisano three-pointer, extending NAU's lead to 12.
Oakland Fort led the Jacks offensively through the final six minutes as NAU held on to a cushioned 10-point lead. Fort dropped two three-pointers and ten points total in his final minutes on the floor, while the Jacks held VMI to zero field goals for the final three minutes aside from the Keydets final layup to close the game out as NAU secured the 78-69 win.
Trent McLaughlin finished with a career-high 21 points, in addition to Basham's double-double performance for a career-high 13 points and career-high 10 rebounds.
Jayden Jackson also recorded a career-high with eighteen points, follow by Fort's season-high 13 points.
C.J. Ford recorded a career-high 16 minutes on the floor, creating multiple opportunities for the Jacks on both sides of the ball, finishing +9.
The Lumberjacks will now travel to Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Warriors on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 11:30 p.m. MST. To stay up to date with NAU Basketball, follow the Jacks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
