BOISE, Idaho (March 9, 2024) – NAU Basketball's 2023-24 campaign came to a close on Saturday night in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament as NAU dropped to the Idaho State Bengals in a 68-60 final.
"It's very disheartening to go down like that, I respect the heck out of our guys for battling their hearts out all season," head coach
Shane Burcar said.
The Bengals grabbed three early offensive rebounds while six of their first eight points came in second chance fashion, as Idaho State took an 8-7 lead into the first media timeout of the game.
Jayden Jackson got started early for NAU, accounting for six of the Jacks first 11 points.
Coming out of the second media timeout, the Jacks ended a nearly three-minute scoring drought as
Carson Basham grabbed the offensive board and the put-back to bring NAU back within four of the Bengals. While ISU struggled from three-point range, shooting 2-of-7 from beyond the arc, NAU capitalized with one of their own from
Diego Campisano to take the 20-19 lead with just over five to play in the first half, jumping out on a 9-0 run.
The Jacks found their biggest lead of the half after a 6-0 run while holding the Bengals scoreless for two-and-a-half minutes at 28-24. The first half saw eight total lead changes and three ties while NAU took a 48.1 field goal percentage into the break as ISU shot 32.4 percent from the field through the first twenty minutes.
Jackson led the Jacks with ten points, shooting 5-for-7 from the field as he was trailed closely by Basham who tabbed eight alongside five rebounds.
Oakland Fort led the boards with six rebounds, bringing NAU to a 20-18 advantage at halftime. NAU limited the Bengals to 14 points in the paint, however turned the ball over five times to allow six points off turnovers in addition to 10 second chance points.
Trent McLaughlin found his first triple of the night to open the second half with 18:00 to go in the second half, tying things up at 33-33. The Bengals then held NAU scoreless for three minutes while hitting a 6-0 run to match ISU's largest lead of the night at 39-33. NAU's three fouls to start the half were beginning to prove to be costly as Idaho State was not called for a foul through the first seven minutes of play.
The Bengals found a nine-point lead with 11 minutes to go, marking their largest of the night yet while hitting five consecutive shots from the field. Forcing NAU into a timeout while outshooting the Jacks 30-15 in the second half, Idaho State fell found a 13-point lead with back-to-back steal and scores. McLaughlin grabbed his second three-pointer with 2:14 to go to bring the Jacks within ten at 62-42. With 1:33 left on the clock, Campisano put the Jacks on a 6-0 run with a triple from the right side as NAU trailed by seven.
The Jacks comeback efforts would fall short as the Bengals held on in a tight final few minutes. Despite shooting 47.2 percent from the field and holding ISU to 42.9 percent, the Jacks took ten less attempts than the Bengals while allowing 18 second chance points. ISU finished the game with 13 offensive boards, going +4 on the glass in general.
Jackson led NAU's four double-digit scorers with 16 points, followed by McLaughlin with 15, Basham with 14, and Campisano with 10. Basham grabbed his seventh career double-double with 12 rebounds.
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