CHENEY, Wash. (January 27, 2024) – The Lumberjacks (10-11, 3-4) outscored the Eagles in the second half, but ultimately came up short as Eastern Washington (13-7, 7-0) closed out the game at 85-70.
It was a back and forth start as the score was tied up at 9-9 through the first four minutes of play, while the Jacks took 4-6 from the field into the first media timeout and the Eagles started 3-5 from the field and 2-2 at the line.
Carson Basham grabbed the Lumberjacks four points of the game while
Trent McLaughlin didn't take long to grab a bucket from beyond the arc, sinking his first three-pointer three minutes into the game.
Fouls began to play a role in the game early on as eight total were called within the first five minutes, five being charged to the Lumberjacks to send the Eagles to the line three times. Breaking out of a scoreless three minutes,
Jayden Jackson sunk a pull-up jumper from the elbow to put NAU back within four points of the Eags.
Eastern Washington entered the bonus with nine minutes to go in the half, as LeJuan Watts knocked in two from the line to put EWU up by ten. As the Lumberjacks found themselves in foul trouble with both
Liam Lloyd and
C.J. Ford picking up three, NAU's offense struggled from the field while Eastern Washington capitalized to extend its lead to 19 at halftime.
NAU shot 33.3 percent from the field in the first frame with Basham leading the way with 12 points. EWU shot 51.9 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range as the Jacks went 1-14 for three. The Eagles won the first half rebound battle 23-11, picking up 11 second chance points and five points off of NAU turnovers. Another 11 points came to Eastern Washington at the line, as the Eagles finished the first half 11-13 on free throws and NAU went 4-5 at the line.
Not counting themselves out, the Lumberjacks brought themselves within eleven to start the half as Eastern Washington committed back-to-back turnovers while sending the Jacks to the line on each possession while McLaughlin and
C.J. Ford sank both of their free throws.
With ten minutes to play,
Oakland Fort hit the three-pointer to bring the Jacks back within single digits at 63-54. Quickly becoming a game decided at the line, the Jacks were struck with four players with four fouls as the Eagles had two players limited with four fouls themselves.
Although NAU's second half efforts were impressive, they fell short as the Eagles held on to the lead to finalize the game at 85-70, winning their ninth straight game and ending the Jacks three-game win streak.
One rebound shy of a double-double performance, Basham led the Jacks with 22 points, just one point off of his career-high, alongside nine rebounds from the forward. With a team-high six assists, Jackson picked up 14 of his own points while Fort finished with 11, and McLaughlin finished with 10. NAU shot 51.7 percent in the second half, to put the game percentage at 42.4 after offensive struggles in the first frame. A big area of emphasis in the game came on second chance points, with the Eagles taking the advantage at 19-8 in the stat line. The Jacks finished with +4 steals, forcing 18 EWU turnovers.
The Lumberjacks will return to Flagstaff for a four-game homestand, set to begin on Thursday, Feb. 1 as NAU will host the Weber State Wildcats on Findlay Toyota Court at 6 p.m. MST. To stay up to date with NAU Basketball, follow the Jacks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
