HOUSTON, Texas (November 27, 2024) – Northern Arizona (6-2, 0-0 Big Sky) completed a 20-point comeback against the Houston Christian Huskies Wednesday night, to claim a 74-71 victory on the road.
"The game-winning shot, that's easy to describe, that's
Trent McLaughlin," head coach
Shane Burcar said. "We had great family and fan support here in this gym and we're thankful they came out for us, we can keep getting so much better and knowing our guys in that locker room, we will."
Northern Arizona fell into an early deficit as the Huskies took advantage of a scoreless five-minute span on the floor from NAU, creating a 20-0 run.
Dillan Baker put an end to the Lumberjacks scoring drought with a driving layup, adding to his eight total first-half points while leading the Jacks in scoring.
NAU's 0-9 from three-point range through the first half would play a pivotal role in the Jacks 33.0 shooting percentage as Houston Christian claimed the halftime lead at 40-23. Elijah Brooks led the Huskies with a perfect 11-of-11 from the field as HCU shot 60.0 percent from the field, sinking four three-pointers.
As the Lumberjacks continued to chip away at the Husky lead,
Trent McLaughlin stepped up to bring the Jacks within 10 points, hitting Northern Arizona's first shot from beyond the arc all night.
Diego Campisano would hit the impressive step-back three shot to close the Huskies lead to just four with just over ten minutes to play in the game.
McLaughlin would continue his success from beyond the arc with four minutes to play, bringing the Jacks within two at 66-64, followed by
Jayden Jackson with a driving layup to tie the game, erasing the 17-point deficit the Jacks faced heading into the second half.
Campisano regained the lead with the right-corner contested three-pointer, putting Northern Arizona up 71-70 with :52 seconds to play. After the Huskies tied it back up at the line, McLaughlin took matters into his own hands, sending the three-pointer with 2 seconds on the clock, giving the Jacks their second road victory of the season.
McLaughlin finished the night with a team-high 23 points, followed by 14 from
Carson Towt as the only two Jacks to finish in double-digit scoring. McLaughlin played all 40 minutes, adding five rebounds and two steals while shooting 42.1 percent from the field. Towt finished with eight boards, while shooting 77.8 percent from the field. Campisano closed out his night with nine points, while
Monty Bowser picked up seven alongside a perfect 3-3 from the field.
Northern Arizona will split road and home matchups next week, taking on Oral Roberts on the road on Wednesday night followed by hosting South Dakota on Saturday in Flagstaff. To stay up to date with NAU Basketball, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
