FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 22, 2025) – NAU Basketball improved to 16-13, 7-9 with a 20-point victory over the Eastern Washington Eagles, marking the third-straight win over EWU, in an 87-67 final, shooting their best from the field all season.
The Jacks had a slower start with two early turnovers allowed, giving the Eagles five of their first ten points off turnovers as Eastern Washington headed into the first media break holding a 10-5 lead. Following a 2-7 start from the field, the Lumberjacks went 7-for-10, shooting 52.9 percent from the field by the under-eight media timeout.
Carson Towt accounted for the first 12 of NAU's 22 points as the Eagles led 24-22 with 7:53 until halftime.
Trent McLaughlin hit his first three pointer of the game to give the Jacks their first lead with 7:30 to play followed by a steal and layup from
Oakland Fort while holding the Eagles scoreless for over two minutes on the floor. The Lumberjacks finished the first half perfect from beyond the arc, going 5-5 as they kept the lead at 41-37 heading into halftime.
Monty Bowser finished the half 3-3 from the field, hitting two triples. Towt led NAU with 14 points, shooting 60.0 percent from the field.
Coming out of half, the Jacks put up an 8-0 run over Eastern Washington quickly, going a perfect 8-for-8 from three-point range before their first miss from beyond the arc at the 13:35 mark of the second half. The Jacks hit 8-of-12 coming out of halftime while holding EWU to 5-of-14 by the under-12 media break.
NAU forced eight second-half turnovers from the Eagles, capitalizing on 16 points off turnovers. Continuing scoreless spurts from the Eagles, NAU closed out the 20-point victory shooting 61.6 percent from the field, marking a season best. McLaughlin led NAU scorers with 23 points, followed by 19 from Towt, 13 from
Ryan Abelman, and 10 from
Jayden Jackson. Jackson and McLaughlin each recorded six assists, as McLaughlin finished with five steals.
The Jacks will now host Northern Colorado next Saturday at 8 p.m. MST for the final home game of the season. To stay up to date with NAU Basketball, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
