| GAME 15: Northern Arizona (4-10, 2-2 Big Sky) at Southern Utah (6-7, 1-3 Big Sky) |
GAME NOTES (PDF)
NAU CONCLUDES ROAD TRIP AT SOUTHERN UTAH ON SATURDAY
The Lumberjacks will conclude a three-game road swing on Saturday afternoon when they travel to face Southern Utah in a 2 p.m. MST tip at the America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah.
NAU will be looking for its third win in Big Sky play following a split on each of the opening two weekends of conference play. With their next Big Sky win, the 'Jacks will surpass last season's win total in conference games.
Saturday's game vs. the Thunderbirds will be streamed on Pluto TV (channel 236). It will also be aired on the Lumberjack Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 1:30 p.m. MST.
NAU will be seeking its second straight road win on Saturday at Southern Utah. It would mark the first time the Lumberjacks have posted back-to-back road wins since the 2014-15 season when they notched victories at Grand Canyon (3/18/15) and Sacramento State (3/21/15).
LOOKING FOR SECOND STRAIGHT BIG SKY WIN
With a win at Southern Utah on Saturday, the Lumberjacks would post three wins in Big Sky action at the earliest point in the season since 2014-15 when it opened league play 3-2.
That season saw the 'Jacks tabbed their third conference win in their fifth league game - a 72-69 win over Idaho State on Jan. 17, 2015.
NAU ALL-TIME VS. SOUTHERN UTAH
The Lumberjacks will be out to snap a five-game skid vs. Southern Utah when they face the Thunderbirds on Saturday afternoon.
NAU dropped both meetings to Southern Utah last season by an average of margin of 7.5 ppg. The 'Jacks lost 81-75 in Cedar City on Jan. 13 before falling 63-54 on Feb. 10 in Flagstaff.
The Lumberjacks lead the all-time series with Southern Utah 16-15 and are 5-9 vs. the Thunderbirds in road meetings. NAU has dropped each of the last two road meetings and last posted a victory in Cedar City during the 2015-16 season by a 73-63 margin.
Current NAU head coach
Jack Murphy owns a 5-7 all-time mark in games vs. Southern Utah.
AVDALOVIC AMONG NATION'S SHOOTING ELITE
As of Jan. 10, NAU freshman
Luke Avdalovic leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks 12th nationally in three-point percentage at 52.7 percent.
Avdalovic has connected on 29-of-55 attempts from deep entering Saturday's game at Southern Utah.
NAU POSTS WIRE-TO-WIRE VICTORY AT IDAHO STATE
The Lumberjacks had five players post double-figure points for the second time this season and the first time since the season opener in an 81-69 wire-to-wire win at Idaho State on Jan. 5.
NAU shot a solid 27-of-48 (.563) from the field in the win, which marked its best shooting percentage since posting a .608 clip at Jacksonville on Dec. 20, 2017 - a span of 33 games.
NAU was also nearly perfect for the game from the free throw line as it finished 19-of-20 overall and just missed posting the sixth perfect game from the charity stripe in program history.
AVDALOVIC STAYS HOT
Freshman
Luke Avdalovic has been hot for the 'Jacks in recent games posting an 11.9 scoring average over the last seven contests and knocking down a total of 23 three-pointers over that span.
WELL ROUNDED SCORING FOR 'JACKS
The Lumberjacks currently have a total of three players averaging double-figure points, led by sophomore
Carlos Hines' team-best 12.6 points per game.
Sophomore
Bernie Andre has notched 12.0 ppg, while junior
Ted McCree has tallied a 10.5 ppg average over the initial 14 contests.
THREE-POINT STREAK
NAU has connected on at least one 3-pointer in 175 consecutive games.
The last time NAU did not make a 3-pointer was on Nov. 29, 2013, versus CSU Bakersfield.
The Lumberjacks finished that game 0-for-11 from beyond the arc.
