PALO ALTO, Calif. (November 12, 2024) – Lumberjack hoops suffered its first road loss of the season on Tuesday night, dropping a 90-64 matchup with the Stanford Cardinal.
"Our guys competed, all of these guys are capable of playing important minutes, we just have some things to work out and it's a long, great season ahead" head coach
Shane Burcar said.
It took just under three minutes of play for the Jacks to jump out on an 8-0 run, led by
Oakland Fort sinking two alongside baskets from
Carson Towt and
Trent McLaughlin, forcing the Cardinal into their first timeout. The Stanford squad struggled to shoot coming out the gates, going scoreless from the field for just over four minutes.
Following the first media break of the night, Stanford found their rhythm while stretching out on a 9-0 run for a 13-13 tie, extending the run before Northern Arizona's McLaughlin sunk the three-pointer to end NAU's six-minute scoring drought and bring the Jacks back within four.
Stanford found a 10-point lead with five-and-a-half minutes to go in the first frame, capitalizing on a three-minute scoreless stretch for the Jacks, before
Dillan Baker took a driving layup to cut the Cardinal lead. Oziyah Sellers and Benny Gealer combined for 4-6 from three-point range with Sellers a perfect 2-2 to give Stanford a 48-26 lead after 20.
Looking for a second-half comeback, the Jacks began their campaign with seven quick points from Fort to force a Stanford timeout and cut the lead to 14. Midway through the second frame the Cardinal forced NAU's first timeout of the half following an 8-0 run.
Near the 10-minute mark, Stanford's Maxime Raynaud was assessed a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct, putting
Trent McLaughlin at the line to sink both, with possession given back to NAU. Back-to-back fouls called against the Cardinal would put NAU in the bonus with 9:48 to play. The Lumberjacks comeback efforts would fall short, with Stanford claiming the 90-64 victory.
NAU finished the game shooting 44.6 percent from the field, going 8-of-22 from beyond the arc, with McLaughlin hitting four three-pointers himself. McLaughlin led the way with another 20-point performance. Fort and Towt also finished in double-digits with 13 and 11, respectively.
NAU will now head to Stockton to take on the Pacific Tigers in a Thursday night matchup, set to tip off at 8 p.m. MST. To stay up to date with NAU Basketball, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
