FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 11, 2023) – The Northern Arizona University men's basketball team fell to Portland State on a buzzer beater with .4 seconds left today at Findlay Toyota Court in Flagstaff by a score of 88-87.
The Lumberjacks were down 86-78 with 1:21 left on the clock and went on a 9-0 run, taking an 87-86 lead with less than five seconds left when
Liam Lloyd drained a three-pointer that appeared to be for the win. After review, .4 seconds were added to the clock and PSU's Hunter Woods lobbed an in-bound pass down the court where it found the hands of Isaiah Johnson who put it up for two as time expired.
This was the second-straight loss for NAU to Portland State that was decided by one point and a buzzer beater. Back on Jan. 12, 2023, PSU's Woods drained back-to-back triples including one at the buzzer for a 75-74 win in Portland.
After today's loss, the Lumberjacks fall to 7-20 overall and 3-11 in Big Sky Conference play. It was the eighth-straight loss decided by five points or less for NAU. Portland State improves to 11-15 and 5-8.
Five Lumberjacks scored in double figures, led by
Xavier Fuller (18 points) and
Carson Towt (17 points).
Nik Mains followed with 15 points, and
Jalen Cone (12 points) and Lloyd (11 points) rounded out the scoring. Towt added nine rebounds and Lloyd led the way with nine assists.
Portland State shot 57 percent from the field and held NAU to just 3-of-14 behind the arc. The Lumberjacks stayed in the game due to their performance at the free throw line, making 24-of-30. The game saw eight lead changes and 12 ties and the Vikings led by as many as 13 points in the second half, leading for 28:33 of the contest.
"I'll say the obvious, that's heartbreak hotel right there. I've never seen anything like that in my life," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "We did regroup. We were prepared for it, and we knew that they would go for a home run pass. It's an unfortunate situation and I feel for the guys in our locker room. I particularly feel for
Xavier Fuller and
Nik Mains, that would've been away to send off our seniors. It would've been a historical game for us. Nobody wants to heart that though. We have to find a way to finish the job. With .4 seconds left you're feeling pretty good, but at the end of the day we didn't get it done."
NAU held its largest lead of four points in the first half, 10-6, after Lloyd completed a four-point play. The teams went bucket-for-bucket and found themselves locked in a 21-21 tie and again at 31-31 with under five minutes to play. An 8-0 run by the Vikings helped them breakaway for a 39-31 lead that extended out to 43-36 after a triple with nine seconds left. At the buzzer, Cone drilled a three-pointer to make it a 43-39 game at the half.
Each team came out and made their first two attempts from the field with four points coming to NAU from
Nik Mains. The Vikings charged on, pulling ahead by 10 points with 14:27 left to go. The lead would continue to extend by as many as 13 points with under 10 to play, but the Lumberjacks refused to give up.
A pair of Fuller free throws trimmed the lead down to six points, but NAU trailed 86-78 with 1:21 to go. Fuller stepped in again with a layup that was followed by two free throws from Cone to spark a 9-0 run. During the run, NAU forced two turnovers and PSU missed three free throws.
After Cone's free throws, Lloyd forced a steal under NAU's basket and found Cone for the bucket. Portland State came up empty on two possessions, and Mains grabbed a defensive board and found Cone who then found Lloyd with three seconds left to drain the three.
NAU had thought the game was over, but after review, .4 seconds were put back onto the clock. PSU's Woods found Johnson at the other end of the court for the quick putback and the win.
Northern Arizona heads out on the road for the final regular season road trip. It begins with Eastern Washington at 7 p.m. Mountain Standard time on Feb. 16 before playing at Idaho on Feb. 18.
