Box Score
RENO, Nev. (March 7, 2017) – Sooner or later, turnovers are going to cost you.
Northern Arizona paid the price for its 19 miscues and Portland State capitalized for an 80-67 win over the Lumberjacks in a first-round game of the Big Sky Conference men’s basketball tournament Tuesday at the Reno Events Center.
The Vikings (15-15) advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will face top-seeded North Dakota on Thursday at 12:05 p.m. PST. Northern Arizona finished at 9-23.
Portland State led the Big Sky with 9.9 steals a game and hit its average with 10 thefts against the Jacks. That resulted in a 23-13 edge in points off turnovers, which was key down the stretch.
The Vikings’ thievery offset NAU’s 39-28 edge in rebounding, led by Jordyn Martin’s 16 boards. The Jacks owned a 20-4 advantage in second-chance points.
The game was as close as expected between the eighth- and ninth-seeded teams. It was a one-point game as late as the 5:40 mark. That’s when the law of averages caught up with the Lumberjacks.
Calaen Robinson sparked a 12-1 run by hitting just the second trey of the game for the Vikings. Deontae North followed with a 16-foot jumper to give PSU a 65-59 lead.
In what proved to be the decisive sequence, NAU’s Aziz Seck turned the ball over on consecutive possessions. That’s when North sent the Jacks south. He converted the first turnover into a 3-pointer, followed with a steal and a layup, then had another layup after the Jacks’ third consecutive turnover. When the dust settled, the Vikings owned a 72-62 lead with 3:15 to play. NAU never challenged again.
North finished with a game-high 25 points off the bench. Brandon Hollins and De’Sean Parsons added 14 points apiece.
Ako Kaluna led the Jacks with 18 points and Martin added 16. Jojo Anderson came off the bench to chip in 15.