This time, Cameron Jones' clutch 3-pointer just before the buzzer was for naught.

Two days after Jones' last-second three sent the NAU men's basketball team into overtime against Idaho State, his 3-point basket with 2.1 seconds remaining during Saturday's 68-67 loss at home to Weber State came up one point short.

Jones' bucket might have been the game-winner if hadn't been for the Weber State's Lindsey Hughey drilling a 3-pointer seconds before on the other side of the court as the Wildcats' shot clock expired.

Trailing 65-64, the Jacks (9-7 overall, 1-3 Big Sky Conference) had a near-perfect defense as the Wildcats (7-7, 1-3) struggled to find an open look at the basket. They didn't get one, either.

Hughey dribbled the ball around the top of the key and came up alongside the Weber State bench as the shot clock dwindled. He hoisted a contested 3-pointer while his coaches and teammates were screaming at him to shoot the ball.

"The guy hit a remarkable shot," NAU coach Mike Adras said. "A step-back three with time expiring. I thought we played pretty well that possession."

Hughey had 12 points and was one of four Wildcats to score in double figures.

"He's a big-time player," NAU's Gabe Rogers said of Hughey. "He threw one up and by the good grace of God, it went in."

Following the basket, the Jacks ran up the court, Jones fired off his three from the top of the key and Adras called a timeout with 2.1 seconds left. The Wildcats inbounded the ball and Hughey was fouled with a second remaining. He missed the front end of a 1-and-1 attempt as NAU's Austin Smith rebounded the ball and slung a desperation shot wide of the backboard to end the game.

Still, NAU was fortunate to be in a position to win the game. The score was tied at 35 at halftime, but the Wildcats went on a 18-2 run to build a 57-41 lead with 10:46 remaining in the game.

"They came out hitting shots all over the place," Adras said. "You don't expect the five-man (center) on the other team to be shooting 17-footers all over the court.

"It's one thing if they're hitting shots and you're still converting at the other end, but when they're scoring and you're not, all of a sudden you look up and you're in a big hole."

The Jacks didn't quit, though, and went on a 13-0 run to bring their deficit to three points with just under seven minutes left.

"We fought back and we had the game in hand -- we were up by one and had the ball -- we just didn't have the game end up the way we wanted it to," said Jones, who had a game-high 26 points. "We wanted it just as bad as they did."

It was a hard night finding open shots for the Jacks. Jones was 10 of 19, but no one else had more than seven attempts. Adras said the Wildcats had an easier week to prepare by not playing a game Thursday night.

"Those guys obviously read the scouting report on me," said Rogers, who entered the game as one of the top 3-point shooters in the NCAA but finished his night 2 of 5 from beyond the arc. "They were very physical ... they just played a hell of a defense."

The loss was NAU's first at home this season and it put the Jacks in a bit of hole to start Big Sky play. Still, they're upbeat knowing there are 12 games left.

"Hopefully we can bounce back from this," Rogers said. "It's not the end of the world.

"We can turn this around."

NAU doesn't play again until Saturday when it hosts Sacramento State at 6:35 p.m.

Jacob May can be reached at jmay@azdailysun.com or 556-2257.