FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 16, 2023) – NAU Basketball is set to compete in the inaugural Arizona Tip-Off at Desert Diamond Arena this weekend in Phoenix.
The Jacks will first take on Purdue Fort Wayne in the first round which is set to start at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17. The third-place game will tip off at 12 p.m. MST on Saturday, Nov. 18 followed by the championship at 2:30 p.m. MST.
The Arizona Tip-Off will include two divisions of four teams, with NAU playing in the Desert Division alongside South Dakota, Purdue Fort Wayne, and VMI. The Cactus Division includes DePaul, South Carolina, Grand Canyon, and San Francisco.
All eight teams participating in the Arizona Tip-Off will be in action on Nov. 17 for their respective opening-round games, which are as follows:
Cactus Division: DePaul vs. South Carolina; Grand Canyon vs. San Francisco
Desert Division: South Dakota vs. VMI; Northern Arizona vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
The Jacks matchup against Purdue Fort Wayne will mark the first time the two teams meet in program history, as well as a possible matchup against VMI. A possible matchup against South Dakota would mark the teams sixth time meeting on the court, with the most recent being in December of 2021 as NAU fell to the Coyotes in a 76-71 overtime game.
The Lumberjacks are coming off their first victory of the season, knocking down Seattle for their first loss of the season and just their third-ever loss in Climate Pledge Arena. After opening the season with just one double-digit scorer through the first two games (
Liam Lloyd), the Jacks win was backed by three double-digit scorers in
Trent McLaughlin's 19,
Rockwell Reynolds 13, and
Carson Basham's 10. Lloyd finished the game with seven rebounds and 12 assists. NAU cleaned up its shooting immensely, going 42.4 percent from the field.
McLaughlin was tabbed APS Player of the Game after his stellar performance while matching his career-high in points with 19, alongside six boards and another career-high matching four steals.
In the Jacks season opener at UConn, NAU was held to a 33.9 field goal percentage while improving to a 39.3 percentage against GCU. The Jacks have now improved their shooting through all three games this season, shifting the emphasis to three-point shooting and free throws. NAU will enter the tip-off with a 21.1 percentage from three-point range while going 57.5 percent from the line.
The Mastodons are on their first 3-0 start to the season since the 1999 campaign, marking this as the first 3-0 start in the program's division I era. Following the program's first three games, Rasheed Bello was named the Horizon League Player of the Week while Corey Hadnot II earned Freshman of the Week honors. Bello is averaging 20.3 points per game, shooting 51.3 percent from the floor, while going 5-11 from three-point range in addition to a 11-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Hadnot is averaging 9.7 points per game, scoring nine in 29 minutes on the floor in the 'Dons win over DePaul.
An area of emphasis for both teams will be turnover, as the Mastodons are 5
th in the nation in assist to turnover ratio and fourth in turnovers forced per game. NAU cleaned up on turnovers against the Seattle Redhawks, only allowing nine points off of turnovers while converting on 15 points in opponent turnovers.
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