With 1:14 left on the clock, the Vandals were only down four. When the clock hit all zeros, they had fallen 87-76. In less time than it took Idaho cut their 11-point deficit down to two points, Northern Arizona took it right back to send the Vandals back to Moscow.
In that final minute, freshman guard Oakland Fort hit a three and junior guard Jalen Cone hit four free throws. Fort’s three proved to be the dagger as Idaho was unable to answer, falling in the first round for the sixth-straight time.
For the first 38 minutes of the game, it looked like the Vandals had a chance to advance. Freshman forward Nigel Burris had a career-high 21 points along with seven rebounds. Junior forward Isaac Jones added 21 points and five rebounds. Senior Rashad Smith posted the best defensive game of his college career with five steals. However, none of their efforts proved to be enough.
The Lumberjacks had a more well-rounded game with four of their five starters, and one of their bench players, scoring in double-digits. Cone led everyone with 25 total points, shooting 6/12 overall, 5/9 from beyond the arc and 8/8 from the free-throw line. Redshirt sophomore forward Carson Towt was the sole player to get a double-double, putting up 13 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.
Overall, both teams shot well. Northern Arizona went 28/55 from the field, 13/29 from three and 18/22 from the line. Idaho’s shooting percentage from the field was almost the same as they shot 26/51 overall. Although their overall shooting was similar, Idaho was worse from beyond the arc and from the line. They shot 5/13 and 19/25 respectively.
In the first half, the Vandals shot better in every category. They were 17/29 from the field, 3/5 from three and 5/6 from the free-throw line. The Lumberjacks went 18/31 overall, 7/15 from three and 2/4 from the line.
Things slowed down for both teams after halftime. Neither team was able to get many shots to fall as the Vandals went 9/22 from the field while the Lumberjacks went 10/24. Idaho took a few more threes in the second, and a lot more free throws, going 2/8 from three and 14/19 from the line. Northern Arizona shot a similar amount of threes, but also got to the line more. They were 6/14 from beyond the arc and 16/18 from the free-throw line.
Although NAU was able to make runs throughout the game, it was really that final minute that got them the win.
“Our guys executed, and we got some big stops,” NAU head coach Shane Burcar said.
The Lumberjacks now face an Eastern Washington team that has been dominant all season. Northern Arizona took them to the wire in Flagstaff, Arizona, falling 79-76, while EWU dominated in Cheney, Washington, winning 72-55. Eastern has beaten NAU in 13-straight games, including the post season, but they’re also coming off a two-game losing streak to end the season. The Lumberjacks will look to end the streak at 4:30 p.m. tonight in Boise.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jamesaldrich25