TEMPE, Ariz. (December 9, 2025) – After a closely-contested first half, Arizona State controlled the second half in a 73-48 victory over the Northern Arizona men's basketball team Tuesday night in Desert Financial Arena. The Sun Devils outscored the Lumberjacks, 38-22, in the final 20 minutes as NAU (4-5) dropped its third consecutive contest.
NAU shot only 25.9% from the field in the second half and 33.3% for the game. Arizona State finished the night at 50% shooting. The Sun Devils (8-2) also outrebounded the Lumberjacks, 41-25, and dominated the paint scoring more than half of their points (40) in the post.
"Tonight we didn't win the Big Sky and we didn't lose the Big Sky," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "We couldn't score the ball, but we took good shots. We battled. We just have to score the ball."
Isaiah Shaw led all players with 21 points in his third 20-point game of the season. Shaw shot 6-of-11 from the field and knocked down three of NAU's five 3-pointers, while also going perfect at the free throw line in six attempts.
Zack Davidson added 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting, but the rest of the team combined for only 15 points.
Shaw's sharp-shooting and
Traivar Jackson's defense pulled the Lumberjacks out of an early 11-2 hole. After NAU missed five of its first six shots, Shaw knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to jump start the Lumberjacks' offense.
A third jumper by Shaw sent NAU into the second media timeout down 13-12 and
Oakland Fort capped a 9-0 run with a turnaround jumper to give NAU a 14-13 lead midway through the first half. During the 9-0 surge, Jackson blocked a pair of Sun Devil field goals, including a layup at the rim.
After the 'Jacks took the lead, the Sun Devils reclaimed the advantage with a 14-3 run over the next four minutes to open up their largest lead of the opening period, 27-16. But Davidson, who had 10 of his 12 points in the half, helped the Lumberjacks charge back once again scoring a pair of baskets during an ensuing 8-0 run.
Davidson's fifth bucket of the first half pulled NAU within 27-24 with four minutes left before Arizona State took a 35-26 advantage at the intermission.
Shaw's driving layup cut the Sun Devils' lead to 35-30 two minutes into the second half, but NAU endured a four-minute scoring drought in which Arizona State scored 13 unanswered points.
Arizona State's run was more than enough as NAU made only seven shots from the field after halftime.
"It's 35-30 and then before you know it, it's 42-30 and then 46-30 and now the game pressure is gone," Burcar said. "If we could've kept the game pressure, we could've made it tougher for them to take some shots."
Although both teams turned the ball over 13 times, Arizona State was more effective off miscues. The Sun Devils held a crucial 23-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
Still, NAU recorded 10 steals and defensively held Maurice Odom to only two points. Odom entered the night averaging 18.9 points per game.
"Our defense is our lifeline," Burcar said. "We're scrappy and we wanted the ball out of Odom's hands. We got into some good basketball fist-fights and when you win those, you can get out in transition. In the second half, we didn't win as many of those, so we were taking the ball out from under the basket. Our defensive effort was great, and our offensive effort was good too. We just have to make shots."
The Lumberjacks wrap up their stretch of three consecutive road games on Saturday at San Diego with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m. MST.
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