BOISE, Idaho (March 5, 2023) – After a season of being on the wrong side of buzzer beaters, this one finally went the way of the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team. Down two points as time expired in the quarterfinal game against No. 1 Eastern Washington in Boise, Idaho, junior
Jalen Cone drove and dished a pass out to true freshman
Oakland Fort who let it fly from three-point range for the game winner and the 81-80 upset.
The victory sends Northern Arizona to the semifinal for the first time since 2015 where they will face either No. 4 Montana or No. 5 Idaho State who play tomorrow (March 6) at 6:30 p.m. Mountain Standard time. The semifinal is set for Tuesday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m. MST.
The win snaps a 13-game losing streak to Eastern Washington dating back to 2017. The Eagles had also ended NAU's season in the Big Sky Tournament two years in a row.
The Lumberjacks, who lost 10 games by less than five points and four of those by a point in conference play, improve to 11-22 overall (5-13 Big Sky). Eastern Washington won the regular season title and won 17 games in a row before dropping their final three games to finish 22-10.
When asked postgame if he thought the shot was going in, Fort replied, "Yes, I did."
Five Lumberjacks scored in double figures led by seniors
Xavier Fuller and
Nik Mains with 16 points each. Fort added 15 points, tying a career-high.
Carson Towt (10) and
Jalen Cone (11) rounded out the scoring. Fuller also added a team-high nine rebounds.
The game featured 14 lead changes and eight ties and NAU led for 21:54.
Northern Arizona shot 51.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range. The Lumberjacks only turned the ball over eight times and forced 12. Eastern Washington shot 56.9 percent and made nine triples. Both teams were shaky from the free throw line, as Eastern Washington made 13-of-20 and the Lumberjacks were 5-of-8.
"What a day. March Madness has officially arrived in the Big Sky Conference, at least for the biased NAU opinion that I have. The character of our guys throughout the season – we are all aware that we have lost tough games. We talked before the game that if you had a chance to win in January, February, or March, you'd pick March. It was a great college basketball game, it was back and forth and we hit a couple of breaks at the end to come through. We had a missed free throw and had a few breaks and were able to execute in the last 30 or seconds.
Jalen Cone had a choice to go downhill and shoot it, or kick it out, and they doubled him. Oakland has been having a great tournament, and I couldn't be happier for NAU. We'll remember this forever."
The Lumberjacks came out fast and applied the pressure, pulling ahead 9-4 early. Towt scored six of the first nine points, making his first three shot attempts. The Eagles pulled ahead, 13-11, after a Steele Venters three-point play and the lead extended out to 15-11. Fort's first triple cut the lead to a point, but a quick EWU 7-0 run put the Eagles ahead, 22-14.
After
Liam Lloyd snapped the run with a deep three, the 'Jacks went on a 4-0 run after Fuller hit a fadeaway from the free throw line and Cone had a takeaway turned into a layup to put NAU up 29-27. The teams exchanged baskets to end the half and went into the locker rooms tied 35-35.
Triples from Cone and Mains followed by a dunk from Towt helped NAU start the half on an 8-2 run. With the game locked at 45-45, a Mains triple gave the Lumberjacks a 48-45 lead. After making three-straight field goals, the Lumberjacks pulled away for their largest lead of the game at 62-56.
With under seven minutes to go, Eastern Washington cut the lead down to a point. The teams were tied again at 67-67.
With 58 seconds remaining, EWU used a 5-0 run to pull ahead 77-71. The 'Jacks responded with five-straight of their own off a Cone jumper and a
Trent McLaughlin triple to cut the lead to a point with 29 seconds left. The lead extended back out to three points, but Cone was fouled making a three and made 2-of-3 to trim the lead to 29-28 with 11 seconds remaining.
With eight seconds left, EWU's Venters made a layup and was fouled, but missed the free throw. McLaughlin rebounded and took the ball down the court and dished it to Cone who popped the ball out and found Fort for the game winner as time expired.
