FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 16, 2021) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team is finally back on the hardwood this week when the Lumberjacks hit the road to Ogden, Utah for a weekend series against Weber State. The Lumberjacks and Wildcats get the week started on Thursday at 7 p.m. and will play again on Saturday at 12 p.m. with both games available for fans on Pluto TV Channel 1054 and the Lumberjack Radio Network.
Due to COVID-19 protocols, NAU has not played since a 68-64 victory over Northern Colorado on Jan. 29 in the Rolle Activity Center. Since then, the Lumberjacks canceled five consecutive games (one versus Northern Colorado and two each versus Sacramento State and Portland State) leading into this weekend's games at Weber State. Thursday's tilt will be ultimately put an end to a 20-day wait since the Northern Colorado win.
The win improved NAU's record to 5-11 overall and 4-6 in Big Sky action.
"It's been mentally challenging for all of the guys since we last played, but it is what it is in 2021 and I'm really impressed with our guys with how strong they've been," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "But it has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination. In our last four games, we're 2-2 and we'll lace them up on Thursday and try to beat Weber State."
Prior to the pause, NAU was coming off a big home victory versus Northern Colorado in which junior
Cameron Shelton sealed up with the Lumberjacks' final eight points of the game. Shelton, the 10th leading scorer in the country at 21.6 points per game, finished the game with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists without a turnover.
Shelton was not the only Lumberjack to reach double-figures though, as a season-best four players scored 10 or more points in arguably NAU's most complete victory of the season. Redshirt sophomore
Keith Haymon scored 12 and redshirt junior
Nik Mains and redshirt freshman
Carson Towt each added 10 in the victory.
With four games remaining in the regular season, redshirt junior
Luke Avdalovic ranks second on the team behind Shelton in scoring at 9.2 points per game, while Mains is averaging 7.9 points. Both players have shot the three-ball exceptionally well with Avdalovic shooting 40.4 percent and Mains 39.1 percent behind the arc.
While the Lumberjacks received their most balanced scoring of the season, they also shut down Northern Colorado defensively as the Bears shot a season-low for an opponent, 41.9 percent from the deck. A big reason for NAU's 2-2 record in its four most recent games was the Lumberjacks' continued improvement on the defensive end. NAU is allowing just 60.5 points per game in its last four games, and the Lumberjacks will need a strong defensive performance against the Wildcats this weekend.
Weber State comes into the weekend having won five of its last six games following a 2-2 start to league play. The seventh-highest scoring team in the country at 83.9 points per game, the Wildcats are 12-5 overall and 7-3 in conference play. The Wildcats score from all over the court and with great efficiency, ranking second in three-point percentage (.403), ninth in field goal percentage (.506) and 12th in free throw percentage (.786). They are one of two teams, along with defending national champions Virginia, to rank in the top 20 nationally in all three stat categories.
Last week, the Wildcats split their road trip to Montana. After their four-game winning streak was snapped with an 80-67 loss to the Grizzlies last Thursday, the Wildcats rebounded for a 91-82 victory on Saturday. Isiah Brown is the third-leading scorer in the conference with 17.6 points per game. Brown, one of five Wildcats averaging double-figures, is shooting 48.3 percent from the field and is also leading the team in assists at 3.2 per game, while Seikou Sisoho Jawara is averaging 14.5 points per game in conference games.
Weber State leads the all-time series 82-29 with both teams winning on their home court last season. NAU took the first season meeting, 72-64, in the Walkup Skydome on Jan. 4, 2020 – a win that snapped a seven-game skid to Weber State – before the Wildcats held off a late Lumberjack charge on Feb. 8, 2020 for a 76-70 victory in Ogden.
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