FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 10, 2026) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team came up short in a back-and-forth affair at Findlay Toyota Court at the Walkup Skydome Saturday night, 81-79, to Idaho State. It was the Lumberjacks' fourth consecutive loss to start Big Sky play.
"I'm impressed with our guys for showing their effort, toughness and attitude throughout the game," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "It hurts to lose a game like this and we had opportunities. I'm holding myself accountable to have this team prepared to come out on the winning side of this. There's a lot of basketball to be played and we're going to get better every single day."
As has been customary through the first two weeks of league play, NAU found itself in double-digit hole before playing itself back into the game. Only this time, the Lumberjacks climbed out of the hole completely.
NAU got out to an early 7-4 lead before Idaho State switched the tide with a 13-0 run. Facing a 10-point deficit, NAU cut into it by five just past the midway point of the first half, buoyed by a 4-point play by
Chris Komin. The Bengals quickly responded with 7-0 run to open up their largest lead of the game at 29-17 with 6:32 remaining in the first half.
By the end of the half, NAU trailed by only one, 40-39, behind an exceptional first 20 minutes by
Karl Poom. Poom, who finished the night with a career-high 22 points, nearly bested his previous high in the first half alone, scoring 15 points before the intermission to help the 'Jacks nearly erase their 12-point deficit.
The Lumberjacks actually led for more than 13 minutes in the second half as the teams battled through 12 lead changes and four ties. However, despite shooting 52.2% from the field in the second half, NAU struggled to slow down Idaho State. The Bengals shot 64.0%, the highest clip by an opponent this year.
Traivar Jackson immediately put the Lumberjacks ahead with the half's initial bucket, but it was the first of five lead changes in the first three minutes. A 3-pointer by Komin put the Lumberjacks back in front, 46-44, at the 17:57 mark and they maintained a narrow edge for nearly eight minutes before the Bengals tied it up at 57-57.
It was not until the 5:11 mark that Idaho State finally moved ahead, 69-68, but it was NAU that went into the final media timeout with the 72-71 advantage following a
Ryan Abelman second-chance putback.
Abelman's basket was the Lumberjacks' final field goal though in the last 3:52. A pair of Idaho State free throws with 3:26 remaining was the 16th and final lead change at 73-72. Still, the 'Jacks remained within a possession throughout and had a chance to tie in the final seconds after the Bengals missed both free throw attempts clinging to an 81-79 lead with 8.6 seconds left.
On the game's final possession, the Lumberjacks were fouled with 1.4 seconds left, but also missed both free throws in their last effort to send the game into overtime.
The loss dropped NAU to 6-11 overall and 0-4 in Big Sky play. Idaho State (9-8) evened its conference record to 2-2 with the win.
Poom shot 8-for-12 from the field in his first career 20-point game. Komin was near perfect, shooting 5-for-6 overall, while going 3-for-3 behind the arc and the charity stripe, in a career-high 16-point scoring performance himself.
Behind Poom's 22 and
Arne Osojnik's 13, NAU's reserves outscored Idaho State's, 39-23. The Bengals entered the game ranked in the top 40 nationally with 32.6 bench points per game.
Traivar Jackson was the Lumberjacks' fourth double-digit scorer with 10.
NAU shot 51.9% overall, but Idaho State shot 55.8% to negate a 20-for-26 performance at the free throw line by the Lumberjacks.
The 'Jacks will regroup and prepare for a road trip to Sacramento State and Portland State next Thursday and Saturday respectively before wrapping up January with four straight home games.
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