FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 22, 2025) – Northern Arizona men's basketball hosts Cal Poly and Southeast Missouri State during its Thanksgiving week Multi-Team Event (MTE) at 6 p.m. MST on Monday and Wednesday respectively in the Rolle Activity Center. The MTE will also feature a neutral-court matchup between Cal Poly and SEMO on Tuesday at 6 p.m. MST in Rolle.
Both of NAU's games on Monday and Wednesday will be streamed on ESPN+.
Mitch Strohman will have the radio call, beginning with the pregame show each night at 5:30 p.m. MST, on the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network. Tickets for all three nights of basketball can be purchased at this
link.
"To have the administrative support to host an MTE says a lot about the direction we want to go as a program," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "To have the caliber of teams like Cal Poly and SEMO coming to our building says a lot about our reputation. We're trying to win the Big Sky and they're trying to win their conferences as well, so it's going to be a great three days of college basketball for fans in Flagstaff."
The Lumberjacks (2-2) posted their ninth consecutive victory in Rolle earlier this week on Tuesday, defeating Embry-Riddle, 108-79, to start a four-game homestand – their longest until January. Five players scored in double-figures, led by
Isaiah Shaw's career-high 20 points, and eight players in total scored at least eight points.
The Lumberjacks led wire-to-wire, opening the game with a 9-0 lead. The Lumberjacks led 56-36 at halftime and maintained at least a 25-point lead for the final 13 minutes of the game.
While NAU was highly-efficient offensively, shooting 75% inside the arc and making 12 3-pointers on 46.2% shooting from behind the arc, the Lumberjacks also got after the Eagles defensively. NAU recorded 11 steals, marking the second consecutive game with double-digit steals, and turned 16 Embry-Riddle turnovers into 25 points.
As a team, NAU paces the Big Sky with 9.0 steals per game and ranks second with 14.3 turnovers forced. Coupled with the fewest turnovers per game (10.0) in the Big Sky, the Lumberjacks have the best turnover margin (+4.3) in the league.
Shaw had a breakout game, recording his first career 20-point outing. Shaw was 5-for-7 from the field, including a career-high 4 3-point makes, and 6-for-7 at the line. The first-year Lumberjack is now averaging 9.0 points per game, and in a small sample size, is shooting 71.4% from 3-point range (5-for-7).
NAU's depth was showcased against Embry-Riddle and through four games, six players are averaging at least 9.0 points.
Zack Davidson continues to lead the team in scoring (18.3), in addition to ranking second with 6.7 rebounds per game, despite missing the Embry-Riddle contest with an injury. Of the six players averaging nearly double-figures, five are Division I transfers (Davidson, Shaw,
Karl Poom,
Arne Osojnik,
Traivar Jackson) to the program this season with
Ryan Abelman the lone returner in the group.
The Lumberjacks will be tested by both Cal Poly and SEMO. Cal Poly was a Big West semifinalist a season ago, while SEMO was picked second in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll after winning the league's regular season championship last season.
"Where are we Thursday morning, getting ready for Thanksgiving? Are we 4-2, 3-3 or 2-4?" Burcar said. "It's going to be a great measuring stick, but it's not going to be the end-all. These are teams that would be very good Big Sky teams, so these are important games for us."
Cal Poly evened its season record to 3-3 on Thursday with an emphatic 92-85 road win over previously unbeaten Utah. In its previous game, Cal Poly fell 90-82 to Big Sky preseason favorite Montana.
The Mustangs reached their first Big West Conference semifinals in 11 years last season and had the fourth-largest win improvement (12) in Division I, finishing 2024-25 with a 16-19 record.
Cal Poly is averaging 81.8 points per game and is known to let it fly from behind the arc. The Mustangs are 40th in the country with 30.3 3-pointers attempted per game and they lead the Big West with 10.8 makes per game.
Hamad Mousa leads the Mustangs with 19.4 points per game and is lethal from deep. Mousa averages 3.0 3-pointers made per game and is shooting at a 48.4% clip. Cayden Ward (16.7) and Peter Bandelj (14.8) also average more than 14 points per game. Both players are shooting better than 36% from 3-point range.
SEMO is off to a 1-4 start after posting a 21-12 record last season, which ended in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship game. The Redhawks' lone win came on Nov. 12, 87-41 over Webster.
Like NAU, SEMO ranks first in its conference in turnover margin (+3.8) behind an Ohio Valley Conference low 12.4 turnovers per game. SEMO is averaging 76.0 points per game on 45.8% shooting, but has struggled to shoot the 3-point ball at 29.5%.
The Redhawks utilize a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging between 14.4 and 10.0 points per game. Luke Almodovar is the team's leading scorer with 14.4 points per game and has made a team-high 12 3-pointers. BJ Ward runs the offense with a team-best 24 assists, placing him third in the Ohio Valley, in addition to averaging 10.8 points per game.
NAU and Cal Poly will meet for the first time since a 59-56 buzzer-beating win by the Lumberjacks in 2011 and the 13th time in the programs' history. The Lumberjacks hold an 8-4 all-time series advantage, including a perfect 5-0 mark in Flagstaff.
The game on Wednesday will be the first all-time between NAU and SEMO.
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