Men’s Basketball Downs Air Force on the Road

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Junior Shane Johannsen scored a game-high 17 points and true freshman Reid Wallace added a career-best 11 points off the bench to lead Northern Arizona to a 60-52 victory over Air Force Saturday night.

NAU improved to 4-6 on the season, while Air Force dropped to 5-4.

The Lumberjacks took the lead for good after tying the game at 27 with a 9-3 run early in the second half. They extended it to double digits late in the game before holding off a late charge with clutch foul shooting. NAU led by 11 points with 3:22 left but Air Force cut the lead to 54-50 with 46 seconds left in the game.

NAU then hit six straight free throws in the final minute to secure the game with Nick Larson, Gabe Rogers and DeAngelo Jones each hitting a pair.

“We came out with energy in the second half and played with a lot of intensity,” said Johannsen. “That ultimately gave us the win. We knew they were undersized in the post. We just worked it around our offense.”

Johannsen went 6-for-8 from the field and 5-for-9 from the line with 8 rebounds to the lead the winning effort. Wallace, who had previously scored five points twice this season, had a perfect night from the field (4-for-4) including three three-pointers for his 11 points. Cameron Jones added 10 points and six rebounds.

“Reid stepped up for us tonight,” said Johannsen. “It is good to see a freshman step up.”

Wallace, who hails from Spring, Texas, was excited to play a role in a big non-conference win.

“I keel like I am finally playing up to my potential and contribute to the team,” said Wallace.

NAU shot 47 percent for the game and made 7-of-11 three-pointers in the game, The Lumberjacks held Air Force to 38 percent for the game from the field.

NAU travels to Colorado State Sunday for a game against the Rams at 6 p.m. The game can be heard on the Lumberjack Radio Network on KAFF AM 930 and is available on the internet at Stretch Internet. The Lumberjacks will break for the holidays before returning to play at Texas Pan American on Dec. 28.