FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 23, 2022) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team plays their fourth game in eight days in the Walkup Skydome on Monday, hosting Sacramento State at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Lumberjack Radio Network.
"I keep talking about this mythical wall. We are close to breaking through it," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "To play Montana State and Montana like we did, we think we can win. I sincerely think we can those games. Sacramento State is a good team. To change this program, we have to win in Flagstaff. Our fans are into it."
The teams were originally scheduled to meet in Flagstaff on Jan. 10, but the game was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Lumberjacks' program. Due to the rescheduling, NAU Athletics is offering 50 percent off general admission tickets to Monday's game. Fans can purchase their tickets
here.
After a two-week postponement, the two Big Sky Conference rivals will finally face one another for the first time in nearly two calendar years. Last season's two regular season meetings were canceled and the two teams last met on Jan. 27, 2020 in Flagstaff, resulting in a 69-54 victory for the 'Jacks. Sacramento State was the only Big Sky team that NAU did not face during the 2020-21 COVID-19 interrupted season.
Following losses to Montana State and Montana, NAU will be aiming to get back into the win column against a team it has fared well against historically. The Lumberjacks lead the all-time series, 40-17, against the Hornets with the .702 winning percentage easily NAU's best versus current Big Sky members.
The Lumberjacks (6-11, 2-4 Big Sky) are coming off a 58-48 loss to Montana on Saturday, a game in which they held the Grizzlies to a season-low point total by a Division I opponent. However, NAU posted its third-lowest field goal percentage of the season (.353), which overshadowed one of the Lumberjacks' most complete defensive performances.
Sophomore
Jalen Cone reached double-figure scoring for the ninth consecutive game with a team-high 12 points versus Montana. He is averaging 18.5 points overall and 18.0 points in conference games, which rank second and sixth respectively in the Big Sky. Cone has scored in double-figures in all but two games this season and is shooting 41.5 percent from deep, good for 40th in the country.
Redshirt junior
Nik Mains continues to back Cone offensively, averaging 12.4 points per game and shooting a career-best 44 percent from behind the arc. Mains, who is shooting 50 percent from the field through six conference games, will be playing in his 100th career game as a Lumberjack on Monday. He is the first Lumberjack since Brooks DeBisschop and Chris Bowling during the 2019-20 season to play in his 100th career game at NAU.
Complementing Cone and Mains last week was junior
Mason Stark, who enters Monday's game on a solid two-game stretch following an extended offensive slump. Against Montana State and Montana, Stark averaged 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 58.3 percent from the field.
Due to the absence of Sacramento State on the schedule for two seasons, only four current Lumberjacks (Mains, redshirt sophomore
Keith Haymon, junior
Isaiah Lewis and junior
Ajang Aguek) have even faced the Hornets in their careers.
Sacramento State has dropped three straight including a narrow 73-72 overtime loss at Idaho on Saturday. The Hornets, currently 5-9 overall, also fell to Eastern Washington last Thursday, 75-62. Although Sacramento State is only 1-6 in conference play, it has been one of the league's better defensive teams allowing only 69.0 points per game – fourth-best in the Big Sky – in league games. That is right in line with the Hornets' season average of 70.0 points allowed, which ranks fifth overall in the Big Sky.
Bryce Fowler does it all for the Hornets, ranking sixth in the Big Sky in scoring at 16.6 points per game, including an average of 18.7 in conference games. He also ranks second on the team with 5.6 rebounds per game and leads with 3.6 assists per game. Zach Chappell is second on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game. In conference games, Chappell is averaging 13.4 points per game and shooting at a 40.6 percent clip from deep.
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