FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 19, 2021) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team opens their longest homestand of the season with a pair of games against Big Sky leading Montana State on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 12 p.m. in the Rolle Activity Center. Fans can catch the game on Pluto TV Channel 1058 and the Lumberjack Radio Network.
After this weekend's games versus Montana State, the Lumberjacks will play a third consecutive home game next Thursday against Northern Colorado before NAU plays six of its next eight games on the road.
Facing the only remaining unbeaten team in league play, NAU hopes to build off a 62-58 comeback win last Saturday on the road at Montana. The victory snapped the Lumberjacks' three-game losing streak while lifting their season records to 4-9 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
"I think we can win immediately," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "Right now we're sitting at 3-4 in the league and we have a big weekend coming up. Our big picture is keep working and developing towards the Big Sky tournament. To win Big Sky games we have to own our home court. I like where we're at; I wish our results were different obviously but we can keep growing defensively and with our toughness."
Led by redshirt junior
Nik Mains' career-high 17 points, the 'Jacks posted their largest come-from-behind victory in almost a decade. NAU trailed Montana by as much as 17 points, which was the program's largest comeback win since overcoming an 18-point deficit versus Eastern Washington on Feb. 16, 2011. The 15-point halftime deficit overcome was also NAU's largest since rallying back from a 16-point deficit at the half at UNLV on Dec. 18, 2003.
Since the start of the new year, Mains is averaging 14.8 points per game and shooting 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from three-point range in his last four games. For the season, Mains is averaging a career-best 8.1 points per game, which ranks third on the team behind junior
Cameron Shelton and redshirt junior
Luke Avdalovic, who has missed the last three games with an injury.
Shelton enters the weekend series versus the Bobcats needing 40 points to reach 1,000 for his career. Shelton, averaging a Big Sky-best 21.4 points per game, would become the 30th player in program history to join the 1,000 point club. In addition to leading the team in scoring, Shelton continues to pace the Lumberjacks in rebounds (6.2), assists (3.9) and steals (1.6) while playing just over 37 minutes per game.
Also emerging last week for the Lumberjacks in Missoula was sophomore
Isaiah Lewis, who scored a career-high 15 poins versus the Grizzlies last Thursday. Over the two games, Lewis averaged 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field.
The 'Jacks have dropped three straight to the Bobcats, including a pair of narrow defeats last season by a combined eight points. Montana State leads the all-time series 53-50, although NAU holds a commanding 35-16 advantage at home.
Montana State remained perfect in Big Sky action with a sweep of Portland State at home last weekend. With Southern Utah, Eastern Washington and Sacramento State all suffering their first conference losses last week, the Bobcats sit alone at the top of the conference standings following victories over the Vikings by the scores of 71-64 and 69-64. Currently on a five-game winning streak, the Bobcats are 7-3 overall and 4-0 in conference play with seasons sweeps of Northern Colorado and Portland State.
Xavier Bishop, a two-time Big Sky Player of the Week recipient this season, leads the high-scoring Bobcats with 16.7 points per game. The UMKC transfer ranks fourth in the conference in scoring and in conference play, Bishop is averaging 19.5 points per game. Jubrile Belo, the reigning Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and Player of the Week, is Montana State's third-leading scorer at 12.0 points per game and he leads the team in rebounds at 6.2 per contest.
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