FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 11, 2024) – Following a successful opening week in Flagstaff for NAU Men's Basketball (2-0,0-0 Big Sky), the Jacks will face their first road tests this week with a pair of games in California, taking on Stanford (2-0, 0-0 ACC) on Tuesday night and Pacific (2-0, 0-0 WCC) on Thursday night.
The Jacks 2-0 season start has seen Northern Arizona combine for 215 points in its first two games of the season, earning a 100-49 victory over Park-Gilbert on Monday and following up with a 115-67 win over Nelson on Friday. The Jacks currently have four players ranked on the league's assist leaderboard with
Oakland Fort leading the way, averaging 4.5 assists per game.
Trent McLaughlin, leading the Jacks and the Big Sky, is averaging 28.5 points a night after posting his second-career 30-point performance on Friday. McLaughlin leads the conference in steals as well, with 7 total on the season as
Carson Towt sits in third in the Big Sky with 5. Towt averages a double-double after two games, leading the league in rebounding with 12.5 per game in addition to 16.0 points a contest. Fort,
Ryan Abelman,
Jayden Jackson, McLaughlin, and Towt have started in both games to start the season. Abelman is averaging 9.5 points, four rebounds, and 21 minutes so far.
The Jacks are coming off a hot shooting showcase against the Warriors on Friday night in Rolle Activity Center, closing out the game going 58.7 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from beyond the arc. NAU has outrebounded both opponents to start the season, +25.5 against Park-Gilbert and Nelson, averaging 52.0 boards a game.
NAU and Stanford have only ever met on the court once, dating back to 2009 where the Cardinal were able to hold on to a nine-point victory over the Jacks. Kyle Smith is currently in his first campaign at the helm of the Stanford program, coming from Washington State where he served as head coach of the Cougars for five seasons, finishing all five slates with winning records.
Stanford is currently led by Benny Gealer, who is in his third season, averaging 16.0 points through two matchups with Denver and Cal State Fullerton. Gealer shot 61.1 percent from the field in his first two starts of the season. It has been the same starting five for Stanford as well so far, going with Gealer, Maxime Raynaud, Jaylen Blakes, Oziyah Sellers, and Aidan Cammann. The Pac-12 Most Improved Player last season, Raynaud led the Cardinal with averages of 15.5 points and 9.6 rebounds, to go with 2.0 assists per game. He is leading the ACC in rebounding through Saturday, Nov. 9, with 13.0 per game to go with 15.0 points per night.
The Jacks will matchup with the Pacific Tigers in a showdown as the Jacks look to remain undefeated in the overall series history, as Northern Arizona currently leads 3-0 with the last victory coming in 2023. Last season, the Jacks hosted the Tigers for a 2-point win where NAU was led by McLaughlin who finished with a game-high 28 points, in addition to Campisano's 14, and Fort's 10.
Northern Arizona will test Pacific for the first time since returning from a three-game road skid in Hawaii at the Rainbow Classic. The Tigers will matchup with Hawaii Monday night at 10 p.m. MST. The Tigers have earned three consecutive victories to start the season, opening the campaign at home with a 92-65 victory over Jessup, followed by an 80-67 win over San Jose State and a 94-41 final over Life Pacific.
With a 3-0 start, the Tigers are led by Elias Ralph and Elijah Fisher's double-digit scoring averages with Ralph leading the way at 18.0 points a night, trailed closely by Fisher's 16.3. Jazz Gardner, a 7'0 center from Pasadena, leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.3 a night while shooting 82.4 percent from the floor on 17 attempts. As a team, the tigers are shooting 54.2 percent from the field, alongside a three-point range percentage of 31.7.
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