| Northern Arizona Men's Basketball |
| GAME 22 |
Northern Arizona vs. Northern Colorado (Saturday, Jan. 28 | 1 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 25, 2023) – With its hopes set on snapping a five-game losing streak, the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team has one contest this week against Northern Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 28 at Findlay Toyota Court in Flagstaff. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. Mountain Standard time.
The first 800 NAU students to the Walkup Skydome on Saturday will receive a free Kiss my Axe t-shirt.
The Lumberjacks sit at the bottom of the Big Sky Conference with a 5-16 overall record and a 1-7 conference mark. NAU has lost five-straight with all of those contests being decided by less than five points. Northern Colorado, who was picked second in the preseason poll, is just ahead of the Lumberjacks with a 7-13 overall record and 2-6 in Big Sky play. The Bears are coming off a 73-67 win over Idaho on Saturday.
Last week, NAU trailed Idaho 47-36 at the half but outscored the Vandals 47-41 in the second half and led by two with 3:03 left. Idaho, who shot 56.6 percent from the field, had two players combine for 55 points and outscored NAU 10-6 in the final three minutes for an 88-83 victory. On Saturday, Northern Arizona took the Eastern Washington Eagles down to the wire in Flagstaff, as the contest featured 13 ties and 13 lead changes. The Lumberjacks led by five with 2:45 left to play, but EWU made three-straight free throws after being fouled behind the arc and pulled away from there for a 79-76 victory.
Redshirt senior
Nik Mains reached a career milestone last week when he became the 31
st member of NAU's 1,000-career point club. Mains has more milestones on the horizon, as he is set to become Northern Arizona's all-time leader in games played on Saturday in his 136
th career contest. He is also one three-pointer away from tying for sixth all-time on NAU's career-three pointer list with 164 career three's. He is currently sixth on the three-point attempts list with 433, needing five more to tie for fifth.
Junior
Jalen Cone joined Mains on the career three-pointers made list after draining seven against Eastern Washington. He is currently 10
th with 149 made three's, needing two more to tie for ninth, five for eighth, and six for seventh. Cone has 407 career attempts which is seventh all-time, needing two more to move into sixth. Additionally, Cone has 945 points in his NAU career, just 55 away from becoming the 32
nd member of the Lumberjack men's basketball 1,000-career point club.
Cone averages 18.1 points per game which is fourth in the Big Sky. He averages 2.9 three-pointers per game to lead the conference and rank 30
th in all of Division I, making 39.2 percent of his shots from deep which is second. He is making 41.3 percent of his shots from the field and is an 83.3 percent free throw shooter, ranking ninth and fourth in those categories, respectively. Cone has scored in double figures in 10-straight games and 15 times overall with eight 20-plus point performances.
Xavier Fuller is the other Lumberjack to average double figures with 11.9 points per game and 15.5 in conference play. Fuller has scored in double figures in five-straight games, scoring over 20 points in three of those contests.
Carson Towt leads the Lumberjacks with 8.1 rebounds per game and is the conference leader in offensive boards, pulling down 3.4 per contest which is 24
th in the nation. He also paces NAU with 3.2 assists per game.
As a team, the Lumberjacks are 92
nd in the nation with 8.2 three-pointers per game, making at least six in 17 games and 10 in eight. The Lumberjacks are second in the conference with 14.62 assists per game. NAU is averaging 71.4 points per game overall, 66.4 in conference play, and allowing opponents to score 75.3.
Much like Northern Arizona, the Bears like to shoot from three-point range, ranking 71
st in the nation with 24.4 attempts per game and making 8.8 to rank 46
th. Northern Colorado boasts Dalton Knect who is 19
th in the country with 20.4 points per game, ranking 15
th with 409 points total to lead the conference. Knect is just ahead of Cone with 2.7 made triples per game, draining 56 on the year. Two other players average double figures in Daylen Kountz (16.5) and Matt Johnson II (11.8). Knect also leads the Bears in nearly every statistical category including rebounds (7.3).
After losing seven in a row, the Bears have won two out of their last three contests with victories over Portland State and Idaho.
The Bears lead the all-time series, 22-14, and swept the series meetings last year. Cone earned a double-double of 19 points and 11 assists on Feb. 5 in a narrow 74-71 loss in Flagstaff. Despite Cone scoring 22 points two days later in Greeley, the 'Jacks were held to 33.3 percent from the field in an 82-60 loss. In Flagstaff, NAU is 9-7 all-time against UNC. Northern Arizona has won four out of the last 10 games against Bears and are 2-3 under head coach
Shane Burcar.
The second half of Big Sky play begins next week when Northern Arizona travels to Montana State (Feb. 2) and Montana (Feb. 4). The Lumberjacks will look to avenge a 69-54 loss back on Jan. 7 to the Bobcats and will go for the series sweep, and third-straight, over the Grizzlies after winning 75-74 in overtime on Jan. 5.
Northern Arizona returns home for three-straight on Feb. 6 when it hosts Idaho State before closing the week against Sacramento State on Feb. 9 and Portland State on Feb. 11. The Lumberjacks will honor Mains and Fuller prior to their contest against the Vikings for Senior Day.
