FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 14, 2023) – NAU Basketball is looking to extend its win streak to four games with a Rolle Activity Center closer against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Saturday.
With a 5-5 record to start the season, the Lumberjacks five Division-I non-conference wins this season marks the most since the 2014-15 season when NAU brought in wins over Fresno State, Southern, Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary's, Grand Canyon, Kent State and NJIT. The last time NAU recorded a .500 or better start through the first ten games was a .600 (6-4) start to the 2019-20 season, with two of those wins coming to NAIA institutions.
The Lumberjacks have won their last three, earning a convincing 20-point victory over Pacific in the home opener, followed by two road wins in Texas at Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word. Both victories in Texas came in exciting fashion as
Diego Campisano tabbed the game winner at ACU and
Trent McLaughlin earned one of his own at UIW.
Campisano lifted the Jacks to victory at ACU, as things came down to the wire, tied 76-76 with 13 seconds remaining,
Oakland Fort stepped up for the mid-range jumper, falling just short as Campisano grabbed the rebound and the put-back to lift the Jacks to the buzzer-beater 78-76 victory in Abilene. Campisano followed his game-winning performance with a career-high 17 points and his third-straight game with seven rebounds at UIW.
McLaughlin posted his eighth straight game scoring double-digits, his third with 20+ points at UIW. The junior guard came in clutch for the Jacks, scoring 15 of his 20 points in the second half while finishing with 10 points in the final three minutes of the game, scoring on four possessions for NAU, closing things out with the game-winning contested three-pointer to secure the win.
McLaughlin's 160 points this season leads the Big Sky, while his average of 16.0 PPG ranks third overall. While averaging 1.8 steals per game, McLaughlin ranks third amongst Big Sky players.
NAU currently is ranked 13
th in the nation in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to 26.6 percent from beyond the arc this season. The Lumberjacks as a team are shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from beyond the arc while averaging 13.9 turnovers per game. McLaughlin (16.), Fort (10.6), and Jackson (10.5) all three are averaging double-digits while
Carson Basham follows closely with 8.2.
The Jacks will look to take the series advantage against the Thunderbirds as it remains tied 21-21 heading into Saturday's matchup. SUU has won the last five games of the series, with NAU's last victory coming in February of 2020 (82-69) while SUU was still a member of the Big Sky Conference. Southern Utah left the Big Sky for the WAC in July of 2022.
Last December the Jacks took SUU to overtime, falling 106-101 after the extra period of play, marking the highest-scoring matchup between the two teams in the series 42
nd game. The leading scorer for the Thunderbirds in that game, Tevian Jones, dropped 31 points against the Jacks, however, does not return with Southern Utah this year. Four Lumberjacks posted double-digit games with
Carson Towt and
Oakland Fort dropping ten apiece.
Southern Utah, with a .333 start to the season, is currently led offensively by Dominique Ford who has started in all nine games for the T-Birds. Ford is averaging 14.4 points while averaging a team-high 34.6 minutes a game as well. Ford has notched five-consecutive double-digit games with a season-high 23 points coming in SUU's two-point loss to a now 7-2 Utah squad.
Parsa Fallah is leading Southern Utah in rebounds, while averaging 4.9 a game and coming off a seven-rebound night in SUU's win to Idaho State. The Sophomore tabbed a career-high 29 points against the Bengals while shooting 81.2 percent from the field, marking his second-consecutive 20+ point game.
The Thunderbirds as a team are shooting 46.0 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from beyond the arc. SUU is averaging a -3.0 margin in rebounding alongside 14.1 points off turnovers, limiting themselves to 11.8 turnovers a game.
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