Bazy, Sir help Lumberjacks hold off Eagles

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Tyrone Bazy scored a career-high 32 points and Steve Sir went 5 for 5 from beyond the 3-point arc to lead Northern Arizona to a 109-101 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday.

Sir finished with 22 points, while Ruben Boykin Jr. recorded his Big Sky Conference-leading ninth double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Rodney Stuckey led the way for Eastern Washington with 23 points. Paul Butorac added 21 points.

NAU (8-7, 3-1 Big Sky) led by as many as 11 points early in the second half, but saw the Eagles (8-8, 2-2) cut the lead to 77-73 with 8:48 left on a pair of Matt Penoncello free throws.

“We looked like we were guarding on roller skates,” said Eagle head coach Mike Burns. “They shot the ball well all night long. When they sink 8 of 11 3-pointers and make 33 free throws, it’s going to be tough to win a basketball game.”

NAU 109, EWU 101

Eastern Washington (8-8, 2-2)—Risper 2-8 4-6 8, Butorac 8-9 5-6 21, Krayem 2-7 0-0 5, Stuckey 6-21 8-8 23, Taylor 3-3 0-0 8, Hinton 2-4 0-0 4, Penoncello 4-6 2-2 13, Humphrey 2-4 0-0 6, Williams 3-6 0-0 6, Moore 2-7 3-3 7. Totals 34-75 22-25 101.

Northern Arizona (8-7, 3-1)—McCurdy 5-8 2-3 12, Boykin Jr. 7-10 4-4 19, Geiser 1-4 0-0 3, Wilson 4-7 2-4 11, Green 0-1 8-8 8, Bazy 10-14 12-13 32, Van Patten 0-0 0-0 0, Sir 7-12 3-4 22, Burrell 0-0 2-2 2, Larson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-56 33-38 109.

Halftime—Northern Arizona 49, Eastern Washington 43. 3-point goals—Eastern Washington 11-31 (Penoncello 3-5, Stuckey 3-10, Taylor 2-2, Humphrey 2-4, Krayem 1-6, Butorac 0-1, Williams 0-3), Northern Arizona 8-11 (Sir 5-5, Boykin Jr. 1-1, Wilson 1-2, Geiser 1-3). Fouled out—Boykin Jr., Krayem, Penoncello. Rebounds—Eastern Washington 32 (Stuckey 7), Northern Arizona 38 (Boykin Jr. 10). Assists—Eastern Washington 17 (Stuckey 6), Northern Arizona 18 (Wilson 7). Total fouls—Eastern Washington 25, Northern Arizona 23. A—1,387.