The Northern Arizona University men's basketball team hosted the 2021 Big West Conference Champions, UC Santa Barbara, at home at the Rolle Activity Center, taking them down 63-54.
With the victory, NAU wins its second-straight and improves to 2-3 on the young season while handing the Gauchos their first loss, dropping to 2-1.
Jalen Cone led the way with 17 points on 5-of-10 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Carson Towt (10 points, 8 rebounds) and Liam Lloyd (10 points) also scored in double figures. Nik Mains added eight points, including two three-pointers that moved him into 10th all-time on NAU's career three-pointer list, sitting with 147.
"The credit goes to all our guys and our preparation for this game. Our coaching staff has also been awesome in every aspect. We've been fighting some sickness, but we didn't make any excuses for that. Big picture, that's why we play teams like Michigan State, Arizona State and a top-ten team in Texas on Monday," said head coach Shane Burcar. "Our guys showed poise and toughness, and we beat a really good basketball team tonight. The credit goes to our players and our coaches for believing in what we're doing."
The first half was a low-scoring affair with neither side making a field goal until the 17:30 mark. Mains broke the drought and put NAU on the board with a three-pointer. Towt followed up with a jumper and the Lumberjacks were off to a 5-0 lead. The lead grew to 7-2, but the Gauchos found their rhythm with a 7-0 run to take a brief 9-7 advantage. From there, Liam Lloyd went on a 5-0 run of his own to retake the lead, 12-9. The Lumberjacks would lead the rest of the way, and a Keith Haymon three at the buzzer gave NAU a 26-19 lead at the half – the lowest amount of first half points the 'Jacks have allowed all season. NAU held the Gauchos to just 29 percent from the field in the first half, making 39 percent of its own shots.
The Gauchos came out of the half and went on an 8-0 run to take a 27-26 lead. The 'Jacks didn't score until the 14:28 mark but were then off on an 12-2 run to pull back ahead, 40-29, for their largest lead of the game at that point. The run included six points from Towt and six from Cone.
A three-pointer by Lloyd put the Lumberjacks up 47-34 and the 'Jacks never looked back. They held the Gauchos without a field goal for four minutes, but UCSB was able to trim the lead down to 54-47 with 2:19 to play. The lead extended back out to ten after Oakland Fort went coast-to-coast and completed a three-point play, 61-51. UCSB found three more points in the closing seconds, but the Lumberjacks were able to hang on for the 63-54 victory.
NAU outscored the Gauchos 37-to-35 in the second half. They shot 41.4 percent overall for the contest (24-58), holding UCSB to 31.9 percent (15-47). NAU scored 14 points off 15 UCSB turnovers and outscored the Gauchos in the paint, 32-to-24.
The Lumberjacks now hit the road again following the pair of home games, as they head to Edinburg, Texas, for the Leon Black Classic. They face Texas on Monday, Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m. MST. The following evening on Nov. 22, they'll matchup against the hosts, UTRGV, at 5:30 p.m.
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