Near the beginning of practice on Wednesday, NAU men's basketball coach Mike Adras huddled his team up before the session began and had a message for the team's four returning players from last year, Cameron Jones, Shane Johannsen, Nick Larson and Josh Lepley.
With the Lumberjacks riding a five-game Big Sky Conference losing streak dating back to last season, Adras was looking for a some sense of urgency from the quartet.
"We were huddling up before practice and (Adras) said, 'Lep, Cam, Shane, Nick, can you guys win a Big Sky game? Come on, let's get this thing going,'" said Jones in a voice imitating his head coach. "That just got us motivated to play hard and try and get this win for our team."
The four returnees and the rest of the Jacks certainly responded to Adras' challenge Thursday night.
The Jacks raced out to a 37-17 halftime lead over Idaho State and held on in the second half for a 68-56 win over the Bengals for NAU's first conference win since a 68-58 win over Sacramento State on Feb. 20, 2009.
"I challenged the returners," Adras said following the victory. "I challenged each one of them individually. I said, 'it's time you start winning some Big Sky games instead of going out there and feeling sorry for yourself afterward.' And, they certainly responded."
It didn't take long for the Jacks to show Adras they were up for the challenge.
Johannsen converted on a dunk on his team's second possession to give the Jacks a 4-2 lead and NAU never trailed the rest of the way.
Leading 6-5, NAU (7-8, 1-3 Big Sky) went on a 15-4 run over the next four-plus minutes to take a 21-9 lead. Junior wing Eric Platt capped the run with one of his three 3-pointers in the game.
The Jacks eventually stretched the lead to 20 thanks to some intense defense. NAU held Idaho State to just 30.8 percent shooting in the first half with the Bengals converting on just 8 of 26 shots. NAU also forced nine Idaho State turnovers and the Bengals had just three assists in the game's first 20 minutes.
Conversely, NAU was 14 of 29 from the field in the first and had 12 assists to just three turnovers.
"Our theme coming into the game was make sure we get off to a good start because when we do get off to a good start, I don't think there's any team that can compete with us when we're at that intensity level," said Jones, who led NAU with a game-high 26 points and added five assists to no turnovers. "It's good that we kept it up and didn't give it back. That start was crucial for us."
Added Adras: "I thought our defense in the first half was outstanding. The defense definitely triggered our offense. We played a very, very strong first half."
The second half wasn't as pretty as the first, especially early on.
Idaho State (4-12, 1-3) mimicked NAU's sense of urgency and cut the Lumberjack lead to 14 points less than three minutes into the half.
The Bengals eventually cut it to 12 at the 13:10 mark, but NAU responded with an 8-2 run to push the lead back to 18 with 11:23 to play.
"We didn't play as well in the second half, but we played well enough to win the ballgame," Adras said. "How do you get upset about a 12-point victory? I'm pleased with the entire team."
NAU had four players score in double figures including Jones' 26. Platt added 13 and Johannsen chipped in with 11.
Lepley had 10 points in just 15 minutes of play, capping a successful day and week for the Jacks.
"We have been practicing well but that only carries you so far," Adras said. "You need to be rewarded for doing what you're supposed to do. You don't need the carrot dangled, you need a bite out of the thing. Tonight, we took a big bite out of it. I'm assuming our guys are enjoying the taste right now."
Idaho State was led by Amorow Morgan, who had 16 points. Demetrius Monroe had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. The Jacks were able to limit Bengals point guard Broderick Gilchrest, who came in averaging 14.4 points per game, to just seven and let him get off just four shots.
NAU will try to earn its second Big Sky win on Saturday when the Jacks host Weber State at the Walkup Skydome. Tipoff is set for 6:35 p.m.
Daniel Berk can be reached at dberk@azdailysun.com or 556-2251.
