Feb. 9, 2006
Final Stats
Flagstaff, AZ --- Idaho State University cut a 16-point Northern Arizona lead to just three with a minute to go, but a jump ball with 26 seconds left went to NAU, and the Lumberjacks hit 6-of-6 from the line down the stretch as the first place Lumberjacks held on for an 88-80 victory.
The Bengals trailed 62-46 at the 13:34 mark after a Ruben Boykin jumper, and NAU still led by 12 with 3:28 after a second straight three-pointer by Steven Sir, but ISU made a furious rally from there. ISU scored six straight times from the free throw line, including four straight from Slim Millien, the last coming at 1:48 to make the game 81-75 Northern Arizona.
The Bengals then forced a quick turnover, which Millien turned into a layup with 1:37 left to cut it to four. Kelly Golob, who scored 20 points in the first half and 29 for the game, hit one of two free throws, and David Schroeder answered with a basket with 1:00 left to cut it 82-79.
The Bengals then forced a missed three by Steven Sir, but the rebound headed out of bounds, where a Bengal and a Lumberjack both dove after the ball and knocked it out simultaneously, giving the ball to NAU on the alternating possession. That forced ISU to foul, which wasn;t a problem for either team. The two teams combined for a whopping 54 fouls and 71 free throws, and the team's made each other pay, as ISU was 27-for-35, and NAU was even better at 32-for-36.
Golob, who has made a living with some big games against ISU, had a stellar opening half with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. ISU clamped down on him in the second half, holding him to just one second half field goal. The Bengals got a team-high 18 points from Tim Henry, 17 from David Schroeder, and 16 from Slim Millien, although he grabbed just one rebound on the night. Kasey Winters had a team-high nine rebounds before fouling out.
ISU was in foul trouble all night, with Logan Kinghorn fouling out along with Winters. Ryan McCurdy fouled out for Northern Arizona as ISU committed 28 fouls, and NAU 26.
The Lumberjacks, aside from Golob's 29, got 17 points from Ruben Boykin, 14 from Sir, and 10 from Tyrone Bazy. NAU outrebounded ISU 35-31. The Bengals were hurt with turnovers, as they committed 19, and they led to 21 Lumberjack points, including 14 in the first half.
NOTES: In the two games this season, Northern Arizona was 55-of-60 from the line against ISU, and the Bengals weren't bad neither, going 45-of-56 ... ISU was just 5-for-18 from the three-point line ... David Schroeder has 115 threes, one behind current Sacramento State assistant coach Lorenzo Watkins, who had 116 as a Bengal ... ISU had just eight assists on the night.
