By Austin Turner — Content Editor
The first half of San Jose State’s game against Northern Arizona was the same old story that Spartan fans have seen all season. The team shot just 30 percent from the field, and 21 percent from three and the Lumberjacks built a 40-30 lead at the break.
And then the Noah Baumann show began.
After scoring only 5 points in the opening half, Baumann played out of his mind in the final 20 minutes. He scored 18 points in the second half, finishing with a career-high 23 on 4-5 3-point shooting and 4 rebounds.
He hit three crucial shots from beyond the arc in a two-minute stretch in the middle of the second half, which swung the momentum in favor of the Spartans. His 3-pointer with 7 minutes remaining gave them the lead, and they wouldn’t give it back.
“I was just being confident, as I always am,” Baumann said.
Baumann was one of four Spartans to score double-digits. Brae Ivey scored 17 points despite going just 1-7 from the floor. He converted on 13-15 free throw attempts in a successful effort to draw fouls.
“He’s growing up and maturing quickly,” said head coach Jean Prioleau. “He’s been playing really well for a long time.”
Oumar Barry had his first double-double as a Spartan, with 17 points and 13 rebounds, including 6 offensive boards. He was pleased with the team’s effort on the glass.
“Sometimes we struggle rebounding,” Barry said. “But we know that we have to. We do it every practice and that helps us.”
After sitting out the first half because of a violation of team rules, Michael Steadman quickly proved his worth to the team. He came out on fire in the second half, and finished with 10 points on 50 percent shooting, and had 8 rebounds.
“He’s our leader,” Baumann said. “When the second half started we gave it to him and he went to work and that opened it up for everyone else.”
Barry was also impressed with the play of Steadman.
“He’s a beast,” he said. “You can’t stop him one-on-one if he’s got the ball.”
Defensively, the Spartans focused on stopping the three, which the Lumberjacks love to shoot. Ultimately, they were successful.
NAU shot 32 3-pointers but only converted on 12 of them. Carlos Hines, the team’s leading scorer, was held to just 8 points of 2-10 shooting.
Bernie Andre had a terrific game with 21 points on 7-13 shooting, but it wasn’t enough for the Lumberjacks to hold off the Spartans.
“Northern Arizona lives by the three,” Prioleau said. “I think we ignited them tonight based on what we wanted to do.”
The Spartans have now won two consecutive games for the first time since the 2016-17 season. They’ll try to make it three on Tuesday when they travel over to The Farm for a date with the Stanford Cardinal.
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