SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (December 20, 2023) – NAU Basketball (6-6) suffered its first loss in the month of December, snapping four-game win streak, to West Coast Conference opponent, San Francisco (9-4) 91-51.
"We've got to take a look in the mirror, including myself, but we're not going to lose our confidence just because of one game. We're going to have the mindset when we get back from our break and shift the focus to our league game and two summit league matchups," head coach
Shane Burcar said.
In a slower start than usual for the Lumberjacks, NAU's first points came at the line from starter
Liam Lloyd who drew the foul inside the paint, ending USF's 4-0 run to start things off through the first two minutes.
Oakland Fort and
C.J. Ford each recorded a three-pointer to keep NAU within reach of San Francisco.
San Francisco quickly jumped out to a 15-point lead as the Dons shot 10-10 from the field, highlighted with 4-4 for from distance through just first seven minutes of the game. By the first stoppage of the game, the Dons had recorded a 20-5 run in a four-minute span while leading 27-9 with 13 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Dons first miss of the night came 10 minutes into play as Volodymyr Markovetskyy had his initial shot blocked by
Rockwell Reynolds before earning the put-back. Through the first ten minutes, the Jacks were shooting 29.0 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from beyond the arc, far off from the team's average field goal percentage of 44.6.
By halftime, the Jacks brought their field goal percentage up to 38.0, remaining 50.0 percent from three-point range. In a 22-point margin, trailing 48-26, Lloyd led the Jacks with six points, while Fort and
Jayden Jackson followed with five a piece. The Lumberjacks were outrebounded 21-4 through the first twenty minutes.
The Dons first-time starter, and USC transfer, Malik Thomas was nearly unstoppable in 15 minutes on the floor in the first half, leading the way with 14 points and 4-5 from distance. Jonathan Mogbo and Marcus Williams also logged double-digits in the first half, with 12 and 10, respectively while Mogbo led the rebound game with six. San Francisco shot 67.5 percent from the field in the first half.
Out of the break, the Dons started on a 7-0 run to continue extending the lead for USF before the
Trent McLaughlin grabbed the Jacks first two points of the second half, with the step-back fadeaway from the right of the glass.
NAU remained troubled in the shooting category while the Dons continued to pull away through the second half to close out the game at 91-51. The Lumberjacks finished 16-30 from the field while USF shot 60.3 percent from the field with four players hitting double-digit scoring alongside Mogbo's near double-double performance. NAU saw its worst rebounding game of the year, finish -20, proving to be a crucial area of tonight's game.
The Lumberjacks will have some time to regroup before returning to action with the first Big Sky matchup of the season as NAU takes on Northern Colorado in Greeley, on Dec. 30. To stay up to date with NAU Basketball, follow the Jacks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
