For the third straight game, the NAU men's basketball team surrendered 80 points. This time though, it was enough to hold onto for the win.
The Lumberjacks had enough key stops and scored in bunches in the second half and overtime to beat Idaho State 82-80 at the Rolle Activity Center on Thursday night for their first Big Sky Conference win this season.
"Oh-and-three would've been a big deficit for us," senior guard Cameron Jones said. "You've got to win the home games, so it was a very important win for us here."
NAU focused on improving its defensive effort throughout its practices this week after losing its first two conference games to the Montana schools. While the focus on defense improved slightly, it came at a cost to the Jacks' offensive production in the game's first 20 minutes.
"Our defense in the first half kept us in the game because, offensively, we looked lethargic," NAU coach Mike Adras said. "We were very sluggish. We missed a number of layups and that just put a bad block in guys' heads."
That all changed in the second half as the Jacks (9-6, 1-2 Big Sky) adjusted to the Bengals' (5-10, 1-2) defense and started taking more outside shots.
"It looked like a completely different game," Adras said. "We shifted from a defensive team to an offensive team."
That switch helped spark a career-high performance for Jones, who scored 37 points on 12-of-23 shooting after only scoring six points in the first half. Still, Jones' performance was reflective of the Jacks as a whole: plenty of offense and still needing more work on defense.
"Cam made a lot of mistakes," Adras said. "If I was going to point a finger defensively, he would be the first guy I would consider. But he still had a career night tonight ... the guy just has a knack of putting the ball in the basket."
Jones came up with the clutch buckets that helped NAU seal the victory. His 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining in the second half tied the game at 67 as Idaho State's Broderick Gilchrest missed his 3-point attempt at the end of regulation.
In overtime, Jones scored six more -- including the final four points -- giving the Jacks the lead for good. Gilchrest, who led the Bengals with 22 points, launched another couple long-distance threes as time expired despite needing only two to tie the game.
Even with the impressive offensive performance, Jones echoed his coach's assessment.
"I was slippin' up on D," he said. "I just wish I made a couple more defensive plays."
Shane Johanssen had an impressive night as well, hauling in 11 points and 16 rebounds (seven offensive) while facing off against the Bengals' 7-foot center, Deividas Busman.
"That's a heck of a double-double," Adras said. "The only downfall is that he didn't get to do it in the overtime for us (after fouling out late in the second half)."
Johanssen, though, didn't take all the credit. Help-defense has been one of the Jacks' strengths and it showed against one of the Big Sky's biggest players.
"I got some help from the guys, just some double-teams and that was key," Johanssen said. "I was just focusing on rebounds tonight."
The Jacks host Weber State (6-7, 0-2 Big Sky) on Saturday at 6:35 p.m.
Jacob May can be reached at jmay@azdailysun.com or 556-2257.
