FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 20, 2025) – NAU Basketball (15-13, 6-9) dropped to the Idaho Vandals (12-15, 7-7) in an 83-78 final on Thursday night at Findlay Toyota Court.
The Lumberjacks struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 35.7 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from three-point range while the Vandals started 50.0 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Vandals came out to start the game on an 8-0 run as
Diego Campisano would put a stop to the stretch with a mid-range jumper.
Trent McLaughlin hit one of what would finish as seven three-pointers of the night just ahead of the first media timeout to bring NAU within four of Idaho, trailing 11-7.
"To give up 45 points to anybody in college basketball in the first half is unacceptable, I take full accountability for it, I'll continue to look in the mirror and so will the guys in the locker, this is a full team effort," head coach
Shane Burcar said.
The Jacks headed into halftime chasing a 45-27 lead from Idaho, as NAU was led by 11 from McLaughlin and six from
Jayden Jackson. Idaho's Tyler Linhardt dropped 16 first-half points followed by eight apiece from Jack Payne and Kristian Gonzalez. The Vandals went 7-for-13 on three pointers in the first frame, in addition to 11 fast break points and 26 bench points.
Coming out of halftime, Idaho took a 7-1 lead to force NAU into their first timeout of the half with 17:19 to play. Back-to-back triples from Ryan Abelam with 13:56 would shift momentum back in favor of Northern Arizona, cutting Idaho's lead to 52-38 to force a Vandal timeout. As back-and-forth play continued, four three-pointers from McLaughlin in the final five minutes of the half would not seal the Jacks comeback efforts.
NAU finished +3 on the glass, led by eight rebounds from
Carson Towt and seven from Abelman. Towt became the second-ever Lumberjack to record 1,000+ rebounds in his career tonight and is now 38 rebounds shy of breaking the program's all-time rebounds record. Abelman's seven rebounds marked a career high while he also tabbed a career high in scoring with 12 points. McLaughlin's game-high of 35 marked his career high as well. Northern Arizona forced seven turnovers in the second half while only committing two as McLaughlin picked up three steals in addition to two from Jackson.
Northern Arizona will now host Eastern Washington in a 2 p.m. MST matchup at Findlay Toyota Court on Saturday afternoon. To stay up to date with NAU Basketball, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
