Lumberjacks Set to Host Vandals, Eagles

Northern Arizona Men's Basketball

GAME 20	Northern Arizona vs. Idaho (Thursday, Jan. 19 | 6 p.m. MST)
	Video | Live Stats | Listen | Tickets | Game Notes (PDF)
LOCATION	Flagstaff, Ariz. | Findlay Toyota Court, Walkup Skydome
TV	ESPN+ | Plus.ESPN.com
GAME 21	Northern Arizona vs. Eastern Washington (Saturday, Jan. 21 | 2 p.m. MST)
	Video | Live Stats | Listen | Tickets | Game Notes
LOCATION	Flagstaff, Ariz. | Findlay Toyota Court, Walkup Skydome
TV	ESPN+ | Plus.ESPN.com

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 17, 2023) – Coming off a pair of road losses last week by a combined four points, the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team has another tall task in front of it this week in Flagstaff at Findlay Toyota Court in the Walkup Skydome.
 
The Lumberjacks, who sit at 5-14 overall and 1-5 in Big Sky Conference play on a three-game losing streak, host Idaho and Eastern Washington. NAU takes on the Vandals, who just snapped a six-game losing streak at home to the defending Big Sky champions Montana State last night, on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time. Idaho sits at 7-12 overall and 1-5 in conference play.
 
It's then on to the undefeated Eagles on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. MST. Eastern Washington beat Montana last night in Cheney, Wash., to earn the sweep of the Grizzlies to improve to 6-0 in conference action for the first time in program history, owning a 12-7 overall record.
 
Last week, Northern Arizona played at Portland State where they trailed by as many as 17 in the first half and 10 points at halftime before orchestrating a second-half comeback. NAU led by five with 17 seconds left but missed four-straight free throws. The Vikings then went on a 6-0 run in the final 10 seconds, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer, to go on to win 75-74. The Lumberjacks then traveled to Sacramento State to face the Hornets where they trimmed a 15-point deficit down to three with seconds remaining, but came up just short, 59-56.
 
Carson Towt earned a double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds (seven offensive) at PSU while Xavier Fuller led the team with 20 points against the Hornets.
 
Towt and Fuller, along with junior Jalen Cone, are averaging double figures in conference play to lead the Lumberjacks. Cone, who did not make the trip last week due to illness, leads NAU with 17.4 points per game overall which is fourth in the Big Sky. He is also third in free throw percentage and ranks second in three-point percentage (38.3%) and second with 2.6 three-pointers per game. He is shooting 41.6 percent from the field, which is ninth.
 
Towt leads the Lumberjacks with 8.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He ranks 22^nd in the country in offensive rebounds, pulling down 3.4 per game to lead the Big Sky. His 152 total rebounds in 63^rd and he has three double-doubles so far this season.
 
Fuller has scored in double figures in three-straight games and already has two 20-plus point performances in conference play. He's averaging 11.3 points per game and shooting 41.4 percent from the field, leading NAU with 1.1 steals per game.
 
Nik Mains is three points away from becoming Northern Arizona's 31^st member of the 1,000-career point club. He would be the first player to eclipse 1,000 points since Cameron Shelton who played for NAU from 2018-21. He also needs three more three-pointers to move into sixth all-time on Northern Arizona's career three-point field goal list.
 
NAU's lone Big Sky win came in overtime over Montana on Jan. 5. The Lumberjacks are sixth in the conference with 70.6 points per game and are allowing 74.5 points per game. In conference action, Northern Arizona has been held to 62.0 points per game. Northern Arizona fires off 7.8 triples per game and are third in the conference in rebounding with 35.4 per contest. The Lumberjacks take good care of the basketball, owning an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.7 which leads the league. They are second in the conference with 14.58 assists per game.
 
Idaho's win over Montana State snapped a six-game losing streak to help improve the Vandals to 1-5 in Big Sky play. It avenged an earlier 72-58 loss to the Bobcats on Dec. 29. The Vandals are paced by Isaac Jones who averages 18.6 points per game to rank second in the Big Sky. Divant'e Moffitt is third overall with 17.9 points per game. Jones pulls down 7.7 rebounds per game while Moffitt is second in the conference with 5.2 assists per contest. Jones is shooting 68.1 percent from the field which is sixth in all of Division I.
 
Idaho has the league's second-highest scoring offense with 75.7 points per game, shooting at a conference best 47.7 percent clip.
 
The Vandals lead the all-time series, 42-27, but NAU owns a 26-10 overall record in Flagstaff. Last season, the Lumberjacks won 74-72 at home, but lost 78-69 in Moscow, Idaho, to end the regular season. NAU has won seven out of the last 10 matchups and have won three-straight over Idaho in Flagstaff. Prior to last season's loss, Northern Arizona had won seven-straight over Idaho. The Lumberjacks are 5-1 all-time against the Vandals under head coach Shane Burcar.
 
Eastern Washington has won eight-straight games, including six-straight in Big Sky play. Three players average double figures, led by Steele Venters and Angelo Allegri with 15.9 and 12.2 points per game, respectively. In conference action, the Eagles are leading the Big Sky with 81.0 points per game as a team and holding opponents to 72. They are also firing off a league-high 8.8 three-pointers per game and lead the league with 36.9 rebounds per contest. Eastern Washington is also the conference's leader in blocked shots (3.32) and assists (14.63) per game but turn the ball over an average of 12.6 times per contest.
 
With a win over Eastern Washington on Saturday, the Lumberjacks would snap an 11-game losing streak to the Eagles. Northern Arizona has not beat EWU since March 4, 2017, in Flagstaff. The Eagles have also beat NAU in two-straight Big Sky Tournament games, ending the Lumberjacks' season in consecutive years. Dating back to 2013, NAU has only won three out of the last 20 matchups and are winless under Burcar.
 
Last year, NAU lost by just three points in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament. In its second-to-last regular season contest against the Eagles in Cheney, Jalen Cone scored 20 points and Keith Haymon added 24.
 
Northern Arizona sticks around Flagstaff to close the first half of Big Sky play against Northern Colorado in its lone game next week. The Lumberjacks host the Bears on Saturday, Jan. 28 1 p.m. MST. UNC is currently 1-5 in conference play and 6-12 overall and have won two-straight over the Lumberjacks.