BOZEMAN, Mont. (January 3, 2026) – Northern Arizona men's basketball trimmed an 18-point second half deficit down to seven before succumbing to a 77-68 road loss to Montana State in Worthington Arena on Saturday.
With the loss, the Lumberjacks fell to 6-9 overall and 0-2 to start conference play. The Bobcats won their fourth consecutive game and improved to 8-7 and 2-0 in the Big Sky.
The difference in the game came behind the arc where the Bobcats drained 12 3-pointers to only five by the Lumberjacks. That proved to be crucial as NAU made more field goals than Montana State (28-26) and had a higher field goal percentage (47.5%-46.4%).
Shouldering the scoring load for NAU was
Isaiah Shaw, who accounted for all five of NAU's 3-pointers. Shaw scored 18 points in a blistering 6-for-7 showing from the field and 5-of-6 from long range.
Kavon Bradford tied his season-high with 12 points. Both Shaw and Bradford did the majority of their damage prior to the half, combining for 25 of NAU's 35 points.
The Lumberjacks got out to a hot start, forcing a quick Bobcat timeout less than four minutes into the contest. Shaw knocked down his second 3-pointer to give the Lumberjacks a 10-5 lead, with
Zack Davidson chipping in a pair of early buckets.
Montana State settled in and managed to tie the game at 12-12 and then moved in front with a crucial 8-0 run to snap a 22-22 tie. Although NAU managed to shoot 51.7% in the first half, the Lumberjacks went into halftime trailing 43-35 largely due to nine Bobcat 3-pointers.
Montana State wasted no time in opening up a 56-38 lead just five and a half minutes into the second half. However, NAU slowly started to chop away at the deficit over the next 10 minutes.
Chris Komin, who scored nine points off the bench, converted an and-1 to put the Lumberjacks within 66-59 with 4:47 to play. NAU got within seven on two more occasions, the last coming on a second chance putback by
Traivar Jackson with 1:45 remaining, but the 'Jacks were unable to pick up their first win in Bozeman since 2018.
Jackson, like Komin, scored all nine of his points in the second half. He also led the Lumberjacks with six rebounds. Komin and
Oakland Fort each recorded a team-high three assists.
NAU hosts Weber State and Idaho State next Thursday and Saturday at Findlay Toyota Court at the Walkup Skydome. Both games are scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
Stay up to date with Northern Arizona men's basketball by following the Lumberjacks on
X and
Instagram.
