NAU senior guard Cameron Jones led the way for the Lumberjacks in their 82-80 overtime win against Idaho State on Thursday, but coach Mike Adras was singing the praises of the rest of the team too.
As Jones set a career-high with 37 points, which included game-tying and winning baskets, several other Jacks added to the victory as well, even if their names didn't jump off the stat sheet.
There was Shane Johanssen's 11 points and 16 rebounds, Gabe Rogers' 20 points and 5-of-8 shooting from the 3-point line -- two came in overtime -- but Adras highlighted the performance of backup point guard Julian Olubuyi.
"We had guys step up at different times in this game and make plays for us," Adras said after Thursday's game. "But the guy I'm the most proud of is Julian Olubuyi. He worked his butt off in practice the last three days and I went home (Wednesday) night and I said to myself, 'Julian's going to play well for us tomorrow,' and I thought he really did. Defensively, he was super and he pushed the tempo and kind of gave us that spark that we really needed off the bench."
Olubuyi didn't light up the stat sheet with one rebound and one assist, but it was his defense that impressed Adras. The senior was tasked with guarding Idaho State's leading scorer Broderick Gilchrest for much of the game and although Gilchrest led the Bengals with 22 points, Olubuyi's defense forced him to take several bad shots. Gilchrest finished the night 10 of 23 from the field and 2 of 8 from beyond the arc.
Olubuyi no doubt earned himself more playing time in tonight's game against Weber State (6-7 overall, 0-2 Big Sky Conference).
The Wildcats come to Flagstaff after an eight-day layoff and were swept by the Montana schools last week. They lost guard Damian Lillard to a broken foot on Dec. 28 but their offense is still plenty potent without their leading scorer.
"Lillard always seemed to be their go-to guy when they needed a bucket in a key situation or in the final three minutes of ballgames," Adras said in a release. "He took over games and had a special ability. Without that, guys are trying to assume that role and they are still searching to see who is going to be that person. They are still are a very talented team, a team that was picked to win our league with quality post players and perimeter players that can really shoot the basketball. You don't take them lightly because they have lost one guy."
CAM NEARING TOP 10
Jones' 37 points against Idaho State were a career high and also vaulted him up the list of NAU's all-time leading scorers to No. 11, moving past Kyle Landry (1,274) and Ryan McDade (1,284). He trails No. 10 Walter Mannon (1,296) by four points.
"He's one of those guys you can try and slow down and contain him but I don't know if you can," Adras said. "He just has so many different ways of being able to score."
Kelly Golob (2002-06) holds the top spot with 1,550 career points.
3-POINT MASTERS
The Jacks' 8-of-13 performance from the 3-point line on Thursday helped them reach the NCAA's top spot. They lead the nation with a 45.1 percent percentage from behind the line.
NAU previously trailed the University of Portland, who resides at No. 2 with 44.4 percent made.
Jones was 3 of 3 from downtown and Rogers' 5-of-8 night helped him reach the No. 4 spot among the NCAA leaders in 3-point percentage at 51.9.
Jacob May can be reached at jmay@azdailysun.com or 556-2257.
