Lumberjack Hoops to Compete at Las Vegas Invitational over Thanksgiving Weekend
Men's Basketball / November 22, 2017
| Thursday/Friday: Northern Arizona (0-4) at Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational |
GAME NOTES (PDF)
Las Vegas, Nev. (Nov. 22, 2017) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team will be hard at work over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend as it travels to Las Vegas for a pair of games at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational, which will be played at The Orleans Hotel & Casino on Thursday, Nov. 23 and Friday, Nov. 24.
The Lumberjacks will open action at Orleans Arena against Hampton on Thursday in a 12 p.m. MST tipoff that will be aired live on the Lumberjack Radio Network, beginning with the pregame show at 11:30 a.m. MST.
NAU will be facing the Pirates for the third time in program history with the most recent meeting coming during the 2015-16 season – a 98-94 victory for the Pirates in double overtime in Flagstaff. Prior to that, the programs met on the hardwood during the 2014-15 campaign in Hampton, Va., with the Pirates claiming a 75-66 win on Dec. 21.
The Lumberjacks will then close their trip to Las Vegas on Friday, Nov. 24 against either UC Irvine or Rider, who will play each other on Thanksgiving Day.
With a win against Hampton on Thursday, the 'Jacks will take on the winner of Thursday's matchup between the Anteaters and Broncs on Friday in an 8:30 p.m. MST tip. With a loss they will play Thursday's loser at 12 p.m. MST. Friday's game will also be broadcast live on the Lumberjack Radio Network.
NAU owns a 5-4 all-time mark against UC Irvine, with the most recent encounter coming during the 1998-99 season and the Anteaters posting a 68-54 victory (Dec. 5) in Irvine, Calif. The last win for the 'Jacks in the series came on Dec. 29, 1982 by a 75-61 margin.
If the Lumberjacks meet Rider on Friday, it will mark the first-ever meeting between the programs in the sport of basketball.
Northern Arizona enters the weekend looking for its first win (0-4) of the 2017-18 season following the first four games of a challenging non-conference schedule that has seen the Lumberjacks already face Arizona, Arizona State and Kansas State.
