FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 8, 2026) – Traivar Jackson and
Brennan Peterson provided the Lumberjacks with a spark on the bench, but the Northern Arizona men's basketball team suffered a 78-65 loss to Weber State on Findlay Toyota Court at the Walkup Skydome.
Jackson and Peterson scored 16 and 15 points respectively to help the Lumberjacks outscored the Wildcats, 41-21, off the bench. However, Weber State made 13 3-pointers on 44.8% shooting, while NAU only made six 3-pointers on 24.0% shooting behind the arc.
"I told the guys after the game that I'm not going to stop believing in our team," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "We have not been outclassed so far through three conference games. We came out with a spark and before you know it, we're down 11 at halftime. In reality, we need to make some shots and put some game pressure on our opponents."
NAU fell to 6-10 overall and 0-3 in conference play. Weber State evened its record to 8-8 while moving to 2-1 in the Big Sky.
Jackson and Peterson came alive in the second half as the Lumberjacks battled back from a 41-32 halftime deficit. Jackson scored 12 of his career-high tying 16 points and Peterson scored nine of his 15 points after the half.
The key stretch for the 'Jacks came trailing 56-46 with 12:45 remaining in the game. Peterson started a 9-1 run with his fifth 3-pointer of the game and capped the run by finding Jackson for a layup to bring NAU within 57-55 with 9:36 left. After a Wildcat basket,
Karl Poom once again cut it to a single possession off a feed from Peterson.
With NAU behind only 59-57, Weber State extended its lead back out for good with a 7-0 run to push out to 66-57 with under six minutes to go. NAU could not get closer than seven points from there.
Like Saturday's game at Montana State, the game largely was determined behind the arc. Peterson drilled 5-of-8 attempts, but the rest of the Lumberjacks combined to go 1-for-17. Meanwhile, as a team, Weber State was 13-of-29 and had five players score in double-figures.
The Lumberjacks were also rebounded by five, 39-34, with the full difference coming on the offensive glass. The Wildcats used their offensive rebounding advantage to hold a 16-11 second chance scoring edge.
Weber State scored the first five points of the night before
Isaiah Shaw tied the game at 8-8 on a driving layup. Shaw's basket started an 8-0 run that put the Lumberjacks in front, 14-8, only for the Wildcats to knot it up at 14-14.
The teams battled through the 20s until Weber State slowly started to separate itself. An and-1 by Shaw, who scored 11 points on the evening, made it a 25-24 game in favor of Weber State with 7:19 to play in the first half. From there, Weber State outscored NAU, 17-7, including a 9-2 run to close the half.
In his first career start,
Chris Komin dished out six assists, matching the most by a Lumberjack this season. Komin also grabbed four rebounds and had two blocks.
Jackson narrowly missed his first career double-double, leading all players with nine rebounds to go along with his 16 points. It was Jackson's fifth double-digit scoring game of the season.
Peterson added three assists, without a turnover, to his stat line as NAU's two freshman guards – Komin and Peterson – combined for nine assists and only two turnovers.
NAU returns to Findlay Toyota Court on Saturday versus Idaho State at 6 p.m. MST.
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