FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 9, 2024) – NAU Basketball (7-8, 0-1) is heading on the road for two conference matchups at Montana State (6-9, 1-1) and Montana (10-5, 1-1) this weekend, coming off a Big Sky-Summit Challenge victory in Flagstaff.
The Lumberjacks finalized their non-conference slate with a 74-73 victory over North Dakota in Saturday's Skydome debut. In head coach
Shane Burcar's 50
th win, the Jacks erased a 17-point deficit for the first win over the Fighting Hawks since 2017.
Diego Campisano tabbed a career-high game in points, tallying 18 while shooting 70.0 percent from the field.
Carson Basham collected his second double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
The win marked NAU's seventh Division-I non-conference victory of the season, matching the most since the 2007-08 season for the Jacks and the most in the Big Sky Conference this season. With a ten-point deficit at halftime, the Jacks battled their way back for the first win of the season after trailing at the break.
Trent McLaughlin continues to lead the Jacks offensive efforts, coming off his 11
th double-digit scoring game of the season, while the junior guard averages 15.3 points per game.
Oakland Fort and
Jayden Jackson follow closely both putting up 9.7 points a game. As a team the Lumberjacks found the key to flip the scouting report against UND, outrebounding their opponent for the first time in six matchups. Basham leads the team in rebounds, averaging 5.7 a game. The Jacks are shooting 43.4 percent from the field this season, and 32.9 percent from three-point range.
Montana State will enter Thursday night's meeting looking to snap a three-game losing streak, with losses coming to Weber State, Oral Roberts, and South Dakota State. The Bobcats opened up Big Sky play with a victory to Idaho State before heading to Ogden to take on the Wildcats. MSU's 22-point loss to Weber State marked the largest losing margin of the season, before the Bobcats fell to SDSU by 28 a week later. The Cats allowed the Jackrabbits on a 29-3 run while unable to score a field goal for eight-and-a-half minutes in the first half, proving to be a pivotal point in the 'Cats loss.
While the Bobcats are shooting 44.0 percent from the field this season, Brian Goracke leads the team in scoring with 15.7 points a game. Goracke is recording 4.5 boards a game, for the second-best average on the team. Robert Ford III leads MSU in rebounding, with 7.4 a game, alongside 13.0 points per game. Ford has recorded three double-digit rebounding games this season, all coming as double-double performances for the redshirt senior.
Thursday night's meeting will mark the first time the Lumberjacks and the Bobcats meet since the 2023 Big Sky Tournament Championship where NAU fell to MSU in an 85-78 finish. Montana State leads the series 60-50, winning the last ten straight breaking the series tie at 50-50 in 2019. NAU will look for its first victory in the Burcar era, with the Jacks last win coming in Dec. 2018 in Flagstaff.
Montana has won their last three straight after falling to Weber State by 30 points, the largest margin of loss since to the Wildcats since 1970. The Griz bounced back in their second Big Sky meeting of the season, picking up a win at Idaho State and sweeping the Big Sky-Summit Challenge games against North Dakota State and South Dakota. The Grizzlies are set to host Northern Colorado on Thursday ahead of a Saturday night matchup with the Jacks.
While Aanen Moody leads the Griz with 15.5 points per game, recording 11 double-digit scoring games this season with a season-high 36 points against NDSU. Freshman Money Williams has brought a lot to the table for the Griz in 11 appearances and six starts, averaging 14.3 points a game and 4.3 rebounds. Montana as a team is shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 36.3 boards a game.
Saturday's meeting will also mark the first game against the Jacks since the 2023 Big Sky Tournament, where NAU knocked the Griz out in the semifinals with an 83-71 victory to advance NAU to the championship game. Montana leads the overall series 77-36 with the Jacks winning three of the last five. Last season's matchup in Montana came down to the wire as the Griz pulled out a one-point victory to outlast NAU on the road.
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