Northern Arizona Men's Basketball
| GAME 12 |
Northern Arizona vs. Utah Valley (Saturday, Dec. 10 | 2 p.m.) |
|
Video | Live Stats | Listen | Game Notes |
| LOCATION |
Rolle Activity Center | Flagstaff, Ariz. |
| TV |
ESPN+ |
FLAGSTAFF, Calif. (December 8, 2022) - For the second time this season, Northern Arizona University men's basketball will face off against Utah Valley. The Lumberjacks and the Wolverines will clash on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. Mountain Standard time at the Rolle Activity Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Both squads are coming off West Coast Conference road victories, with NAU defeating Pacific on Tuesday night by a score of 73-69, and the Wolverines topping BYU on Wednesday night, 75-60. The Lumberjacks sit at 4-7 overall while Utah Valley is 5-4.
The two teams last met earlier this season on Nov. 12 in Orem, Utah. UVU led 15-2 early on, and although the Lumberjacks outscored the Wolverines in the second half and tied the contest with 8:53 to play, they fell 73-69. In the win, true freshmen
Oakland Fort and
Jack Wistrcill scored in double figures along with
Liam Lloyd, and
Carson Towt grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds.
Since the squads last met, NAU has compiled a 4-4 record and Utah Valley has gone 3-3 with a pair of overtime losses. The Wolverines lead the all-time series 3-2. The Lumberjacks' last win came on Dec. 14, 2019, by a score of 79-73 in Orem. In Flagstaff, the series is tied 1-1.
Jalen Cone paces the Lumberjacks with 14.4 points per game, which is 10
th in the Big Sky Conference. Cone averages 2.2 triples per game with 24 on the year, which ranks 76
th nationally.
Carson Towt ranks ninth in the nation with 100 total rebounds (9.1 per game) and is sixth in offensive rebounds per game with 4.2. Towt also leads the team and ranks seventh in the conference with 3.5 assists per game.
Xavier Fuller has scored in double figures in five out of the last six games and earned his first career double-double at Pacific with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Lumberjacks love to shoot from three-point range, averaging 8.8 triples per game which is 68
th in the nation. NAU has made at least six three-pointers in 10 out of 11 games this season with 10 or more in five. As a team, they average 72.1 points per game while shooting 41.5 percent from the field. They average 15.1 assists per game.
Utah Valley comes into Saturday on a two-game win streak and have four players who average double figures, led by Justin Harmon with 14.7 points per game. Aziz Bandaogo has four double-doubles on the year, averaging 12.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. The Wolverines rank 15
th in the nation with 5.7 blocks per game, led by Bandaogo with 2.4 a contest. As a team, UVU averages 74.4 points per game, shooting 43.8 percent from the field.
Following Saturday's game, the Lumberjacks have one final non-conference game remaining with their old Big Sky foe, Southern Utah. The game will be played in Cedar City, Utah, on Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. MST.
