| Northern Arizona Basketball |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 2, 2024) – Tipping off the 2024-25 season on Monday, the Lumberjacks will look to take a 1-0 start to the season as NAU will host the Park-Gilbert Buccaneers at Rolle Activity Center for a 6 p.m. MST start.
Monday night's matchup is the first home opener the Jacks will host since the 2018 season, where NAU tabbed a 97-82 victory over Jacksonville. NAU was picked fifth in both the preseason coaches' and media polls, marking the 'Jacks highest landing since 2015 where NAU was picked to finish fourth in both polls while jumping three spots from last seasons.
NAU's five newcomers, four transfers and one true freshman, will have their first opportunity to debut in blude and gold on Monday night.
Monty Bowser,
Dillan Baker,
Ali Ragab,
Leigh Rickwood-Pitt, and
Tyler Hutton will all be entering their first season with the Jacks while the team looks forward to some key returns from injury.
Carson Towt and
Jack Wistrcill will look to capitalize on their return from season-ending injuries in the 2023-24 season. Towt's return marks his first time on the court since the 2022-23 campaign where he started in all 35 games for the Jacks, led the team in rebounds, assists, and blocks while third in points, capping it all off with a Big Sky All-Tournament selection. As a freshman, Wistrcill saw the court in all 35 contests, hitting a career high of 14 points at Utah Valley.
Northern Arizona is coming off a 14-19 (.424) record, closing the season with a 7-11 Big Sky Conference record. As a team, NAU shot 43.8 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from three-point range, led by
Trent McLaughlin's 74 made three-pointers. Returning the most points in the league, McLaughlin was named Big Sky Preseason MVP last week, as announced by the conference office.
McLaughlin finished the 2023-24 campaign as the league's fourth-highest scorer, leading the Jacks with 16.6 points per game. One of just five players in the conference to tab 550+ points last season, McLaughlin tabbed his 500th point in a thrilling double-overtime victory at Idaho State to close the regular season. With 1,151 minutes in 32 starts and 33 appearances, McLaughlin is coming off his first-ever Big Sky all-conference honors, being the first Lumberjack named to the team since the 2020 season.
Park-Gilbert is coming off a 12-16 record during last year's campaign, closing out Cal Pac play on a three-game win streak with wins coming against Simpson, Cal Maritime, and Pacific Union College. The Buccaneers are led by Gordon Stubblefield who enters his seventh season at the helm of the Park-Gilbert program. The team shot 42.5 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from three-point range last season.
The Buccaneers opened the 2024-25 campaign on Friday night with a 111-65 loss to Nelson University, who the Jacks will host in Rolle Activity Center on Friday night. Park's Caleb Geisendorfer led the team with 18 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes on the floor. Isaiah Williams, off the bench, recorded 17 points on eight made field goals. As a team, the Buccaneers went 24-of-50 from the floor, just 2-for-9 on three-pointers.
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