FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 30, 2025) – Northern Arizona Basketball (13-8, 4-4) is hitting the road for the lone matchup of the week, taking on the Big Sky's top team, the Northern Colorado Bears (15-6, 7-1) to wrap up the first half of Big Sky Conference regular-season play. The next win for the Lumberjacks will match their number of wins in 2023-24 as well as mark the first season with 14+ wins since 2019-20.
With just over a month to go until the Big Sky Championships take place in Boise, the Lumberjacks find themselves sitting in fourth place in league standings, while coming off back-to-back road victories last week at Eastern Washington and Idaho. The Jacks road victory over the Eagles marked the first time NAU has won in Cheney since 2010. NAU then went on to pick up its third-straight win over the Vandals in Moscow, jumping on a two-game win streak heading into Greeley.
The Lumberjacks offense currently ranks 3rd in the conference while ranking 5th in defense, averaging 78.6 points per game while holding opponents to 70.5. NAU is led by the nation's third-highest scorer,
Trent McLaughlin who averages 21.5 points per game. McLaughlin has started in all 21 games for the Jacks, records 16 20+ point games as well as two 30-point performances, and is currently shooting 41.1 percent from the field. McLaughlin has tabbed a Big Sky-best, averaging 3.0 three-point field goals per game, while fifth in steals (1.6) and leading the league in minutes (35.7).
Another Lumberjack amongst the nation's best,
Carson Towt enters the week as the nation's second-highest leading rebounder, picking up 12.3 boards per game. Towt's 14 season double-doubles also ranks second in DI Basketball. Shooting 57.3 percent from the field, Towt ranks 31
st in field goal percentage in the country. Towt is coming off a perfect 4-for-4 performance at Eastern Washington, while going on to finish on 50.0 percent shooting at Idaho, scoring 24 points and adding 28 rebounds through both contests.
Getting the nod in his first two starts of the season at EWU and Idaho,
Diego Campisano took advantage of his new role with the Lumberjacks last week, sinking seven three-pointers on the road. Campisano has recorded 16 three-pointers in the last four games, after only hitting six in the first seventeen meetings of the season.
Jayden Jackson currently leads the Big Sky in assist/turnover ratio at 2.6 after picking up 14 assists last week, matching his career high of seven assists in back-to-back contests.
NAU Basketball will look to snap a two-game losing streak to Northern Colorado, after the Bears went 2-0 in the regular-season series last season. The Jacks last grabbed a victory over the Bears in Greeley with an 85-82 final in 2023 as Towt posted 12 for NAU in the victory. Northern Colorado will enter Saturday's matchup after dropping the first league game of the season, falling to Idaho on a Thursday-night buzzer beater, 77-76. The Bears were able to bounce back with quick turnaround, grabbing a 67-62 victory over Eastern Washington on Saturday.
While leading the conference in offense, averaging 81.4 points per game, Northern Colorado has seen its defensive struggles, ranking seventh in the Big Sky while allowing 74.0 points on average. The Bears remain the lone team in the league with over 50.0 percent shooting, as they are currently shooting 50.7 percent from the field. The Bears are led by Isaiah Hawthorne who is scoring 17.6 points a game, closely trailed by Langston Reynolds 17.1 points a game. The pair lead the team on the boards as well, averaging 5.7 rebounds a night each.
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