POCATELLO, Idaho (March 3, 2025) – NAU Basketball (17-14, 8-10) closed out the regular season with a road victory over the Idaho State Bengals on Monday night, recording an 82-79 final in Pocatello while shooting 57.4 percent from the field.
Dillan Baker earned the nod for his first career start on Monday night, taking no time to settle in on the court as he took a driving layup inside to put Northern Arizona on the board first. The Lumberjacks shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field to start, taking a 10-7 lead into the first media timeout with 15:48 to play.
The Jacks' offensive success continued, shooting 81.8 percent from the field on their first 11 attempts, leading the Bengals 21-20 with 11:25 to play while ISU's Dylan Darling and Jake O'Neil accounted for 16 of their first 20 points. Coming out of the media timeout, Idaho State capitalized on a two-minute scoreless stretch for NAU while hitting a 7-0 run before
Carson Towt snapped the stretch with a layup.
NAU shot an impressive 70.8 percent from the field through the first 20 minutes, led by 15 from Towt, followed by 10 from McLaughlin. Towt finished the half perfect from the field, 7-for-7, adding three rebounds alongside an assist. The Bengals found their advantage on the glass, leading rebounds 16-9. Northern Arizona took a 44-42 lead into the locker room shooting 57.1 percent from beyond the arc while ISU shot 50.0 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three-point range, and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. The Jacks went 6-for-12 at the line in a half that saw eight lead changes and six ties.
The Jacks first bucket of the second half would come as McLaughlin found his first triple of the game, just moments before he would pick up his third foul, limiting the Jacks leading scorer. Towt continued to shoot perfect from the field (9-9), hitting back-to-back jumpers and adding one at the line to hold a 55-53 lead with 15:50 remaining. A 6-0 run for NAU would extend to a 65-61 lead at the 11:48 mark as NAU looked to cushion the lead.
Just the fourth for him this season,
Leigh Rickwood-Pitt found the corner triple from McLaughlin's fifth assist of the game to take a 73-71 lead into the under-eight media timeout with 6:03 on the clock. A scoreless three minutes for the Bengals would allow NAU to extend to a 77-73 lead with 3:25 to play. With :39 to go, the Bengals would utilize a timeout, chasing the Jacks 82-79 lead, unable to convert as the Jacks secured the win.
Towt tabbed a career night, matching the single-game record for field goal percentage, finishing the night 100.0 percent on 11 makes. He tabbed a career-high of 24 points, in addition to recording his 19
th double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. Towt is now just five rebounds shy of NAU's all-time rebounding record with 1,040 total in his career. McLaughlin closed out his night shooting 50.0 percent from the field, while
Jayden Jackson tabbed 17, shooting 54.5 percent from the field.
Dillan Baker racked up eight points on two three-pointers, adding four rebounds and an assist while
Ryan Abelman finished with nine points on 60.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
The Lumberjacks will travel to Boise, Idaho for the Big Sky Conference Tournament this week, locked into the No. 7 seed awaiting final confirmation of their first-round No. 8 seed opponent as the regular season wraps up Monday night. To stay up to date with NAU Basketball, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
