Men's Basketball Shuts Down NAU in 76-62 Victory

SAN ANTONIO (Jan. 4, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's basketball team defeated North American University (NAU)76-62 on Thursday night. The Saints improve to 6-6 overall and 3-3 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Stallions drop to 4-7 overall and 3-2 in conference.

Head Coach Chris Dial said, "I'm really proud of our second-half effort. NAU played with a lot of intensity, and we were able to match if not exceed that down the stretch. Our bench came up big, led by Breion, and we were able to protect our home court. We are looking forward to Saturday versus Xavier."

History

The Saints were 2-0 against the Stallions prior to the game.

Basics

NAU had a strong first half offensively. They shot 44.4 percent from the field and hit 8-of-11 free throws. The Saints forced nine turnovers by the Stallions and Trey Law had 10 points. Paul Minjoth tallied three steals and added seven points. Both teams grabbed over 15 rebounds and the Saints trailed by two points at the half.

The Saints defense stepped up in the second half. They limited the Stallions to 26 points and forced 11 turnovers. Lonzo Rand and Breion Powell both had double-digit points in the half and Powell grabbed four rebounds. OLLU also had nine steals and ended up winning by 14 points.

Offensive/defensive standouts

Trey Law and Powell led the Saints with 16 points apiece. Law and Powell had five rebounds each. Rob Gil tallied four assists.

Sean Fry led NAU with 14 points. Damione Thomas grabbed seven rebounds. Five different players had one assist apiece.

Inside the box

OLLU combined for 30-of-66 shooting for 45.5 percent, 7-of-19 from three-point range for 36.8 percent and 9-of-12 from the free-throw line for 75 percent. NAU shot 23-of-58 for 39.7 percent, 7-of-26 three pointers for 26.9 percent and 9-of-13 from the free-throw line for 69.2 percent.

The Saints grabbed 34 rebounds while NAU collected 28. The Saints forced 20 turnovers and committed 19.  

Up next

The Saints battle Xavier University of Louisiana on Jan. 6 at 4 p.m.