NAU basketball ended the first half against Weber State with 17 turnovers and just 18 points, putting themselves in a hole they couldn’t dig out of.
NAU men’s basketball lost their first conference game of the season on Thursday, Dec. 2 — falling to Weber State on the road 67-44. The Lumberjacks are now 0-1 in conference play and 3-5 on the season.
Weber State jumped in front early and never looked back, leading by as much as 25 while preventing the Lumberjacks from ever gaining the upper hand on the scoreboard.
Neither team played particularly polished basketball, but the Lumberjacks’ 28 total turnovers — including 17 in a first half that saw the team score just 18 points — all but sealed NAU’s fate long before the final buzzer sounded. Weber State turned the ball over just 10 times all game.
Adding to the lack of discipline from NAU were their 22 team fouls — including 12 in the second half — which stifled any chance of a comeback. Both NAU and Weber State ended the first half with 10 team fouls, but the Wildcats were able to get their fouls under control in the second half, finishing with 15 for the game.
Both NAU and Weber State struggled all night to make shots. The Lumberjacks shot 33.3% on 48 attempts, while the Weber State Wildcats went 20-58 from the field, good for 34.5%. The two teams didn’t have much better luck from three-point range, although NAU’s 4-15 night from deep was preferable to Weber State's 4-26.
Weber State freshman forward Dillon Jones led the game in scoring, putting up 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds while shooting 7-13 from the field. Jones was one of three players to crack double digits on the night — all of which suited up for Weber State.
Junior forward Nik Mains led NAU’s pedestrian scoring night, putting up seven points to go along with eight rebounds and a 2-5 night from the field; Mains was also 1-2 from three-point range.
This loss marks NAU’s third by 15 points or more. The 23-point defeat is also the Lumberjacks’ second-worst loss of the year, following a 29-point loss on the road against UArizona to open their season.
NAU (3-5, 0-1 Big Sky) will now turn its attention to another conference rival in Idaho State (1-6, 0-1 Big Sky). The Lumberjacks will take on the Bengals in Idaho on Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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