FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 22, 2021) – In their final week of the regular season, the Northern Arizona men's basketball team has a home-and-home series with Southern Utah on tap with hopes of going into the conference tournament with momentum. The Lumberjacks will travel to Cedar City, Utah for the front end of the home-and-home to take on the Thunderbirds on Wednesday at 6 p.m. before both teams make their way to Flagstaff for a Friday 5 p.m. tip-off in the Rolle Activity Center.
Wednesday's game will be streamed on Pluto TV Channel 1055 and Friday's game will be available on Pluto TV Channel 1058. Both games can also be heard on the Lumberjack Radio Network.
Following Friday's regular season finale in Flagstaff, NAU will have next week off during its scheduled bye week before the Big Sky Tournament gets under way in Boise, Idaho on March 10.
NAU suffered a pair of road losses to Weber State last week, 92-59 and 74-52, in the Lumberjacks' return to action following five consecutive game cancelations as a result of COVID-19 protocols. With the two losses, NAU is 5-13 overall and 4-8 in conference play, leaving the 'Jacks in 10th going into the week in the Big Sky standings.
Redshirt junior
Luke Avdalovic posted his first two double-digit scoring games since Dec. 31 last week versus the Wildcats, averaging 14.0 points across the two games. He shot 50 percent (5-of-10) behind the arc and capped the weekend in Ogden with 16 points, coming up one point shy of his season-best. Avdalovic is now averaging 9.9 points per game and is one three-pointer away from tying Andrew Mavis for seventh all-time in school history and two away from tying Quinton Upshur for sixth for career three-pointers.
Junior
Cameron Shelton had his 22-game double-digit scoring streak snapped on Saturday, finishing with just five points in 22 minutes, but he still leads the Big Sky in scoring at 20.6 points per game. Ranked 16th nationally in scoring, Shelton is also one of four players in the country – and the only non-Power 5 player – to rank in the top 10 in their respective conferences in seven statistical categories.
Going into the Lumberjacks' final week of the season, Shelton leads the Big Sky in scoring, ranks fourth in assists (3.9), fifth in steals (1.5) and also sits in the top 10 in field goal percentage, assist-to-turnover ratio and minutes per game. The only other three players nationally to rank in the top 10 in their conference in seven statistical categories are Jose Alvarado (Georgia Tech), Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State) and Miles McBride (West Virginia).
Southern Utah heads into the week second in the Big Sky at 8-2 in league games. The Thunderbirds, who are 13-0 at home this season, is 15-3 overall and they extended their winning streak to five games last week with victories, 88-69 and 77-57, over Sacramento State at home.
The sixth-highest scoring team in the nation at 85.3 points, Southern Utah has four players averaging double-figures led by Tevian Jones at 17.6 points per game. The Illinois transfer ranks third in the conference in scoring and is also averaging 4.3 rebounds per game. John Knight III leads the team and ranks second in the conference with 4.3 assists per game. Knight III is the Thunderbirds' third-leading scorer at 11.9 points per game and is also Southern Utah's leader in steals with 26.
NAU and Southern Utah have split their series over the last eight years since the Thunderbirds joined the Big Sky at 8-8. NAU, who has won the last three meetings, leads the all-time series, 21-16. Southern Utah is slated to depart for the WAC effective July 1, 2022.
To stay up to date with the NAU men's basketball team, follow the Lumberjacks on
Twitter and
Instagram.
