Flagstaff, AZ – Northern Arizona big man Carson Basham had a career night in leading the Lumberjacks to an 84-65 win over Portland State at JL Walkup Skydome.
 
Basham had career-highs of 23 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots as the 'Jacks led start to finish. He made 9-13 from the field and 5-8 from the free throw line. Trent McLaughlin added 19 points and Oakland Fort scored 15 for NAU.
 
Portland State struggled on both offense and defense from start to finish. The Vikings fell behind early and trailed by double digits for almost 30 minutes of the contest.
 
Ismail Habib had 14 points to lead the Vikings. Isiah Kirby scored 12 points and Hunter Woods had 10 in another strong performance by the PSU bench. Non-starters scored 35 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. 
 
PSU dropped to 11-7 on the season with the loss. The Vikings are 2-3 in the Big Sky Conference. Portland State has lost three of four and five of its last eight games.
 
Northern Arizona got a much-needed win to improve to 8-10 overall, 1-3 in the Big Sky. The 'Jacks are 4-0 at home this season.
 
It was NAU's first win over PSU in three seasons. The Vikings had won nine of the last 12 meetings.
 
Portland State fell behind 9-2 early while making only one of its first 10 shots. Foul problems then got them in trouble. PSU was whistled for 10 fouls in the first 11 minutes of the half. That got the Lumberjacks to the free throw line often as they shot 13 compared to one attempt for the Vikings in the opening 11 minutes.
 
Eventually, the Vikings trailed by 18 points at 40-22. They were down 45-32 at halftime. NAU didn't shoot particularly well, but had a 28-21 rebound advantage and one only turnover to go with all the free throws.
 
Two quick baskets to open the second half had PSU within 45-37, but that was as close as the Vikings would get. NAU went on a 17-4 run over the next five minutes as the Portland State never threatened again.
 
NAU was 30-70 from the field (.429), while the Vikings shot 25-63 (.397). The Lumberjacks were 18-28 at the line (.643), while the Vikings were 12-17 (.706). NAU also won the battle on the glass, 46-39, while committing only six turnovers in the game.
 

GAME NOTES

• Isiah Kirby has averaged 13.0 points and shot 12-18 from the field (.667) in the last two games.
• Hayden Curtiss had seven points, a team-high seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
• Portland State is now 5-5 at road this season. 
• The Vikings were missing scoring and rebounding leader KJ Allen, who sat out the game due to a shoulder injury. Allen had double-doubles in three of his last four games.
• Portland State plays at Northern Colorado on Saturday. The game can be seen on ESPN+ beginning at 5 p.m. PT.