Northern Arizona Men's Basketball
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 14, 2022) - After opening the season with three games on the road within the week, the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team finally returns to Flagstaff to host the first home games of the year.
The Lumberjacks welcome Benedictine Mesa to town on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time. They then end the week with a contest against UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. MST. Both games take place in the Rolle Activity Center and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Northern Arizona is 0-3 on the young season with losses to Michigan State, Arizona State and Utah Valley. In all three contests, the Lumberjacks outscored their opponents in the second half, but could not overcome early first half deficits.
Two Lumberjacks average double figures in
Jalen Cone (15.0 ppg) and
Liam Lloyd (12.0 ppg). Lloyd has scored in double figures in all three contests, and Cone has in two. Cone earned a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds at Michigan State and has at least three three-pointers in every contest this season, ranking seventh in the Big Sky in points per game. Additionally, he averages 6.0 rebounds per game.
Carson Towt has stuffed the stat sheets and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds and three steals at Utah Valley. He currently leads the Lumberjacks with 9.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.0 blocks per game while adding 6.0 points per contest. Towt ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game, sixth in assists per game and 10
th in blocks.
As a team, NAU averages 64.0 points per game and are shooting 37 percent from the field. They rank fourth in the conference with 8.7 three-pointers per game and grab 33.7 rebounds per game. The Lumberjacks are also fourth in the Big Sky with 11.3 offensive boards per contest, are second in assist to turnover ratio (1.23) and are also second with 14.33 assists per game.
Benedictine Mesa is an NAIA member out of the California Pacific Conference and are currently 2-2 overall. They are led by head coach Frank Woodford who was a former graduate assistant coach for the men's basketball program at NAU.
The Redhawks and the Lumberjacks will clash for the fourth time in program history on Tuesday, with NAU leading the all-time series, 3-0. The last meeting came on Nov. 15, 2021 where NAU won 97-48 in Flagstaff.
Keith Haymon,
Nik Mains, Cone and Towt all scored in double figures in the win, with Towt earning a double-double.
UC Santa Barbara, out of the Big West Conference, is 2-0 on the year with wins over San Francisco State and Fresno State. The Gauchos have four players who average double figures, led by Cole Anderson with 17.0 points per game. Andre Kelly, a transfer from Cal where he earned Pac-12 Honorable Mention, averages 14.5 rebounds and 11.0 points per contest. UCSB averages 68 points per game and are shooting 43 percent from the field. The Gauchos are holding opponents to just 56.5 points per game at 39.2 percent clip, outrebounding opponents by an average of nine with 40.0 per game. The Gauchos finished 22-5 last year and were the Big West Tournament champions, earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Creighton by one point in the first round. They were picked to win the Big West again this year in the preseason coaches poll, as they return Big West Freshman of the Year Ajay Mitchell and three All-Big West Honorable Mention players.
The Lumberjacks hit the road again following the pair of home games, as they head to Edinburg, Texas, for the Leon Black Classic. They face Texas on Monday, Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m. MST. The following evening on Nov. 22, they'll matchup against the hosts, UTRGV, at 5:30 p.m.
NAU returns home following Thanksgiving to host Abilene Christian on Nov. 27 and Ottawa on Nov. 29.
To stay up to date with the NAU men's basketball team, follow the Lumberjacks on
Twitter and
Instagram.
