I am a little behind, but by now you likely know that Northern Arizona took down NJIT in the CIT semifinals on Tuesday night, as they won 68-61 in front of a sellout crowd in Flagstaff (which, it's pretty darn great that a sellout crowd showed up to cheer them on!).
The Lumberjacks trailed 33-26 at the half, but came on strong in the second half, outscoring NJIT 42-28 in the last 20 minutes. Amazingly, NAU did that despite shooting just 32% in the half, as they grabbed nine offensive rebounds and shot 24 free throws.
Quinton Upshur paced them with 23 points, though he was 6/18 from the floor. Aaseem Dixon had 19 himself. For the second straight game, both Jordyn Martin and Len Springs were just beasts in the paint, finishing with a combined 32(!!) rebounds. Springs also finished with five blocks. On a day when Kris Yanku struggled badly (1/14 FG), the seniors stepped up in a major way to continue their careers.
On a day when the shots weren't falling, the Jacks still found a way to get the victory, a testament to their defense and rebounding ability.
They now go on the road to take on Evansville in the CIT title game. The game is Thursday, April 2nd at 5pm mountain time, and the game will be on the CBS Sports Network, and can be viewed online.
Two years ago, Weber State made it to the CIT title game before losing on a late shot... Hopefully this time, NAU can bring the championship home for the Big Sky!
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NAU wins despite subpar offensive performances from Yanku and Upshur. But Q was amazing on defense and Dixon was all over the place. If Yanku and Upshar are with it offensively and Martin and Springs do their outstanding job defensively, NAU has a chance.
ReplyDeleteWay to represent! Good luck in the final!
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