FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – On a snowy afternoon at 7,000 feet of elevation, the Pacific men's basketball team (4-5) endured the cold temperatures on the court as well, ultimately falling to Northern Arizona (3-5), 78-58, Saturday at Rolle Activity Center.
 
The Tigers drop to 1-2 on the road and 4-5 overall on the season. The Lumberjacks won their home opener, tying a season-high with 78 points and improving to 3-5 on the year.
 
Senior Judson Martindale was one of three Pacific players in double-digit scoring, tallying a season-high 21 points (7-13 FG) in 37 minutes and giving the Tigers some life early with two threes in the first five minutes. Off the bench, senior Greg Outlaw was perfect from the free throw line (6-6), adding to his season-high total of 13 points. Redshirt junior Burke Smith finished the game with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
 
The Tigers and Lumberjacks were ready out of the gates, exchanging buckets from deep with ease. NAU was able to tack on the pressure from beyond the perimeter, shooting 52.2 percent (12-23) on the day from three-point range. Pacific shot 22.2 percent (4-18) in comparison.
 
Pacific cooled off toward the end of the first half as NAU went on a 16-2 run to close out the opening 20 minutes of the contest. The Tigers had a nine-minute stretch where the team went without a bucket until Smith made a layup in the final minute of the first half. Pacific trailed by 14 at halftime, 36-22.
 
The Tigers attempted to re-ignite their offense, but the Lumberjacks capitalized on the full-court press. NAU persisted in shooting well from downtown and never looked back from their first-half advantage. The margin grew, resulting in both teams emptying their benches throughout the second half in which NAU held on for the 78-58 victory.
 
While the Tigers' bench outscored the Lumberjacks' bench 30-18, the points off turnovers favored the home team, 17-9.
 
Pacific continues its road trip, facing Idaho at 6 p.m. PST on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at ICCU Arena.