POCATELLO, Idaho (February 29, 2024) – For the first time in program history, the Lumberjacks secured a leap day victory, with the Jacks first double overtime game of the season as NAU recorded a 92-88 victory against the Idaho State Bengals on the road Thursday night.
"You see the character of this team, we absolutely showed that tonight," head coach
Shane Burcar said. "Our guys are winners, on and off the court they are great men and that's how you continue success long term."
A scoreless two-minute start to play would force the Lumberjacks into a quick timeout, as NAU looked to put a stop to the Bengals 6-0 start.
Jayden Jackson came out of the timeout with a driving layup off an
Oakland Fort pass inside the arc to put the Jacks on the board and ease some early-on nerves.
Maleek Arington would quickly account for four of Idaho's first 10 points of the game, going 4-4 from the free-throw line. The Jacks were held to just 2-of-7 by the under-16 media timeout while the Bengals were 4-of-6 with the eight-point lead. Both Fort and
C.J. Ford were charged with two fouls each just seven minutes into play, sending the Bengals to the line to shoot six.
As Idaho State headed into the under-12 media break going 5-of-6 from the field, the Lumberjacks quickly answered with a three-pointer from
Diego Campisano as
Isaiah Kai found his second assist in just four minutes on the floor. As the Lumberjacks found their rhythm offensively,
Carson Basham led the way midway through the first half with a game-high ten points.
Just ahead of halftime, Campisano found his ninth points of the night off his third three-pointer, remaining 100.0 percent from beyond the arc for the Lumberjacks, marking just his third-career game with 3+ three-point field goals. At the break, NAU trailed 38-35, erasing ISU's largest lead of the half, 10 points, multiple times to tie things up, yet to find a lead at the break.
The Lumberjacks found a 57.1 field goal percentage through the first 20 minutes, while Idaho State held the slight advantage at 58.3 percent. Both the Jacks and the Bengals would each grab 12 boards in the first half, as NAU was led by Basham's six in addition to his game-high 16 first half points as he sunk his final five shots of the half. NAU finished +10 inside the paint in the first half, while putting up 11 bench points as ISU's bench wouldn't answer for any.
Three Bengals found double digits in the first frame with Arington and Miguel Tomley leading the way at 12 a piece and Kiree Huie closely following with 10, making his last four shots heading into the locker rooms.
Coming out of the locker rooms, the Bengals took advantage with a 9-4 start backed by a 7-0 run in a minute-and-a-half span to force the Jacks into another quick timeout with 17:09 to go. The Lumberjacks would find their footing coming out of the timeout as
Liam Lloyd would find Basham inside the paint, tabbing 20 points on the night. The Bengals recorded four fouls in thirty seconds on the floor, sending McLaughlin to the line to sink both and bring NAU back within four.
With just under 12 to go, the Bengals found back-to-back three-pointers, their fifth and sixth of the game to take a nine-point lead into the media break on a 6-0 run. Coming out of the timeout, McLaughlin would bring the Jacks back within eight, completing the three-point play at the line.
A Basham block would spark some momentum for the Jacks as Fort would hit his first three-pointer of the night, while the Bengals would then commit their seventh turnover of the night, quickly followed by their eighth heading into the under-eight break. The Jacks found a 13-0 run over four-and-a-half minutes on the floor while holding the Bengals scoreless for nearly six, giving the Jacks their first lead of the game at 69-67 as Jackson got the reverse-layup and one at the line.
With two minutes to play, the Jacks held their largest lead of the game at 5, after McLaughlin tabbed his first three-pointer of the night to force the Bengals into a timeout. With :12 seconds to go, Tomley would tie the game up with two free-throws, forcing the Jacks first overtime game of the season. A 6-0 start to overtime for the Bengals would lead to the Jacks 8-2 run to force double overtime in Pocatello. The Jacks closed out the second overtime period on a 7-0 run led by Jackson and Lloyd to secure the win after 50 minutes of basketball.
The Lumberjacks finished the night 45.3 percent from the field, and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc. Basham led the Jacks with a career-high 33 points, alongside 13 rebounds for his sixth career double-double for the Jacks. McLaughlin finished with 20 while Jackson tabbed 15. As a team, NAU moved to 8-0 when outrebounding opponents this season while finishing +4 on the boards.
The Lumberjacks will now head to Ogden to take on the Weber State Wildcats for final road game of the regular season. To stay up to date with NAU Basketball, follow the Jacks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
