FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 16, 2025) – Northern Arizona Basketball (11-7, 2-3) is back in the win column following a 77-53 victory over the Sacramento State Hornets at Findlay Toyota Court on Thursday night.
"We've got to give a big thank you to the fans to start tonight, the community was here and that means a lot to me as a head coach, but I know it means a lot to our players too to see that support," head coach
Shane Burcar said. "We have great faith in our team, we know what we're capable of doing and we just got to play NAU basketball, which played out tonight."
Holding the lead from start to finish, the Lumberjacks got rolling early, holding the Hornets scoreless for the first four-and-a-half minutes to start. Meanwhile the Jacks took an 8-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from
Trent McLaughlin and
Dillan Baker to kickstart the Northern Arizona offense. Coming out of the first media timeout,
Diego Campisano hits the Lumberjacks third-straight triple to extend NAU's lead out to 11-2.
A 9-2 run in favor of NAU would give the Jacks a 17-4 lead with 11:43 to play while starting 4-of-9 from three-point range. The Lumberjacks held Sacramento State to 28.1 percent from the field through the first half, as the Hornets would go 1-15 from beyond the arc with Julian Vaughns recording the lone three-pointer. NAU's eight first-half triples would give a 45-23 advantage heading into the locker rooms, while the team went +12 on the glass to start. McLaughlin led with 11 points, closely trailed by nine from
Monty Bowser while
Carson Towt grabbed 10 rebounds and five points.
Continuing to struggle from beyond the arc, Sacramento State went 1-for-18 before finding their second three-pointer of the game with 14:50 to play. NAU's hot shooting continued off the bat, with Campisano finding another triple followed by a driving layup to lead 65-31 just under the halfway mark of the second frame.
Northern Arizona held tight to secure the victory at 77-53, as Campisano finished an impressive five three-pointers on 77.7 shooting from the field, picking up a season-high 19 points. McLaughlin led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 50.0 percent from three-point range on four makes.
Towt secured his 12
th double-double of the season with 14 boards and 11 points alongside Bowser who finished with 11 points as well and eight rebounds as NAU finished +10 on the glass. The Lumberjacks shot 45.8 percent from the field, and 44.4 percent from three-point range while holding the Hornets to 33.9 percent shooting from the field and 5-29 from beyond the arc.
Northern Arizona will now turn the page to host the Portland State Vikings on Saturday night at Findlay Toyota Court in the Walkup Skydome at 6 p.m. MST. To stay up to date with NAU Basketball, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
