FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 7, 2024) – NAU Basketball (14-18, 7-11) will head to Boise this weekend for the 2024 Big Sky Conference Tournament as the No. 7 seeded Jacks are set to take on the No. 8 Idaho State Bengals (12-19, 7-11) on Saturday night at 8 p.m. MST.
For the second time in a week-and-a-half span, Northern Arizona and Idaho State will meet on the court while the Jacks look to pick up their second-consecutive victory over the Bengals following the Feb. 29 double overtime win in Pocatello. Saturday's meeting will break the 2-2 neutral game tie in the series with the last neutral site meeting between the two being a 64-62 game in favor of the Bengals coming in the 2020 conference tournament. Entering the tournament with a 14-18 overall record, the Jacks hold their best record since the 2019-20 season which ended at 16-14.
As a redshirt sophomore,
Jayden Jackson will make his debut in the conference tournament after injury benched him in the 2022-23 campaign. Jackson is entering the tournament with four consecutive double digit scoring games under his belt while shooting 50.2 percent from the field while second in rebounding on the team, averaging 4.3 boards a game.
Averaging 16.7 points a game,
Trent McLaughlin will enter the tournament as the Big Sky's third top scorer this season while
Carson Basham will enter the tournament as the conference's leader in field goal percentage, shooting 58.5 percent from the field. As a team, the Jacks are shooting 43.7 percent from the field, averaging 44.2 percent in conference matchups alone. NAU's three-point percentage defense ranks first amongst league institutions, while the Lumberjacks hold opponents to 32.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Basham led the Jacks to the double overtime win against the Bengals in the teams' last meeting on Feb. 29, with a career-high 33 points in 45 minutes on the floor, grabbing two steals and a block in addition to a game-high 13 rebounds. Also playing 45 minutes, McLaughlin finished with 20 points and three steals, closely followed by Jackson's 15 points alongside eight rebounds.
The Bengals are heading into the tournament seeking to snap a three-game losing streak that the Jacks sparked, followed by a loss to Northern Colorado and a loss to the Montana Griz to close out the regular season.
As a team, Idaho State is shooting 46.3 percent from the field while opponents are shooting 47.9 percent on average. The Lumberjacks shot 46.4 percent from the field in this first contest against ISU this season, alongside 45.3 percent from the field in the double overtime thriller. The Bengals rank third in the conference in team offensive rebounds, averaging 9.8 a night.
Brayden Parker leads Idaho State with 14.8 points a game, followed by Miguel Tomley (13.2), Maleek Arington (11.8), and Kiree Huie (11.4). Parker's scoring ranks seventh amongst Big Sky players while his 5.8 boards a game rank tenth. Tomley is currently shooting 37.5 percent from three-point range, ranking second in the league while averaging 2.4 three-pointers a night. Tomley led the Bengals with 24 points in the Feb. 29 meetings, closely trailed by Arington who grabbed 23 points. Arington led the game with six steals.
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