FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 23, 2024) – Looking to build off a 2-0 home weekend of Big Sky play, the Lumberjacks will jump back on the road to take on the Idaho Vandals and the Eastern Washington Eagles this week after jumping three spots in the Big Sky standings.
With five Big Sky teams with four or more conference losses this season, the Jacks are the only team with three league losses, as Eastern Washington tops the standings with a perfect 5-0 record, Northern Colorado follows with one loss, and Montana and Montana State each having two while trailing the Bears and the Eags closely.
Carson Basham tabbed his scoring career high against the Vikings with 23 points while shooting 64.2 percent from the field, in addition to ten rebounds while earning his third double-double with the Jacks. Basham also tabbed a career-high in blocks, picking up six against the Vikings, the most in a single game by any player in the Big Sky this season. The forward's momentum did not slow down against the Hornets, as he recorded a career-high 30 minutes on the floor, finishing just two points shy of another double-double. Basham had eight points, 12 blocks, and another three blocks in the Jacks second-straight conference win.
Basham now leads the Big Sky in blocks, averaging 2.4 in league games. The junior finished the week averaging a double-double with 15.5 points, 11 blocks, and 4.5 blocks per game.
Trent McLaughlin also reached a career high this past weekend, recording 31 points against the Vikings while playing all but three minutes through both matchups. McLaughlin leads the Jacks in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game, 17.2 in conference games.
As a team the Jacks are shooting 42.0 percent from the field, while coming off of back-to-back games of season low turnovers, averaging just 6.5 turnovers a game against Sacramento State and Portland State. Staying in the rebound game proved to be crucial for the Jacks as they went +6 against the Vikings and evened out with the Hornets. NAU's biggest advantage this past week came on fast break points as they outscore PSU 15-1 on fast breaks and SAC 10-4 in the same category.
Idaho is currently sitting in last place in the Big Sky following a 1-4 start to conference play. The Vandals will look to snap a five-game losing streak with their last victory coming to Sacramento State on Dec. 28. As a team, Idaho is shooting 43.4 percent from the field while committing 10.8 turnovers a night as well.
The Vandals are led by Quinn Denker who is putting up 12.3 points a game, followed by Julius Mims with 11.7, and Tyler Mrus with 10.5. Mims leads the Vandals in rebounds with 7.3 a game. The junior forward has recorded four-consecutive games scoring double-digits while earning a double-double against St. Thomas after a season-high rebounds of 14.
NAU and the Vandals last met up in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament where the Jacks knocked the Vandals out of play with a 87-76 victory to move on to the quarterfinals.
Oakland Fort tabbed 13 points while shooting 83.3 percent from the field in the March 4 meeting. The Jacks are 8-2 in the last ten meetings with the Vandals.
Eastern Washington is entering the week on a seven-game win streak, winning three straight in Big Sky play to Idaho, Weber State, and Idaho State. The Eags will host Northern Colorado first on Thursday before Saturday's matchup with the Jacks at 2 p.m. MST. The Eagles are currently lead the league in field goal percentage, shooting 49.5 percent from the field through 18 games. In Big Sky play alone, EWU has shot 53.6 percent from the field, second to UNC.
The Eagles have five players averaging double-digit scoring, while Cedric Coward leads the team with 14.1 points per game. Following, Ethan Price averages 12.1, Dane Erikstrup with 11.4, Casey Jones with 10.7, and Jake Kyman with 10.1. Coward also leads the team in rebounds with 6.7 a game.
The last matchup between the Jacks and the Eags came in the second round of the Big Sky Tournament, where NAU earned its first victory over EWU since 2017, after the Eagles had won 13-straight against the Lumberjacks. The last-second shot from
Oakland Fort sent Eastern Washington home while advancing NAU to the tournament semifinals after the 81-80 victory.
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