FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 19, 2025) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team heads out on the road for the final time before conference play with a quick stop in San Antonio, Texas to face UIW in the McDermott Center on Sunday at 1 p.m. MST. The game will be streamed on
ESPN+.
The pregame show with
Mitch Strohman on the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network begins at 12:30 p.m. MST.
The Lumberjacks got back into the win column with a 65-57 victory over Southern Utah Thursday night in their first game of the season on Findlay Toyota Court at the Walkup Skydome. The win improved NAU's record to 5-6 overall.
NAU picked up the win with its defense, holding Southern Utah to only 57 points – a season-low versus a Division I opponent – and its ability to limit its turnovers. The 'Jacks only turned the ball over eight times, marking the third game this season with under 10 turnovers.
While the Lumberjacks defense held it down, with
Chris Komin,
Traivar Jackson and
Isaiah Shaw combining for nine of NAU's 11 steals,
Ryan Abelman largely provided the offensive fireworks. Abelman notched his third 20-point game of the season, scoring a career-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from both the 3-point line and charity stripe. Over the last four games, Abelman is averaging 13.5 points per game and shooting 46.2% (12-for-26) from behind the arc.
Although his six-game double-digit scoring streak came to an end,
Zack Davidson continues to lead the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game. Davidson is 25th in the country in field goal percentage (.629).
The 11 steals on Thursday marked the fifth game this season that NAU logged double-digit steals. It is their most double-digit steal games in a season since 2015-16 when the Lumberjacks also had five such games. The 'Jacks rank 65th in the country, and first in the Big Sky, with 8.6 steals per game.
For the third consecutive season, NAU and UIW will meet on the hardwood, and if the last two seasons were any indication, Sunday will be a thriller. The Lumberjacks won both of the first two all-time meetings by a single point in 2023 and 2024.
Two years ago in San Antonio, a game in which Diego Campisano scored a then career-high 17 points, Trent McLaughlin hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds to propel NAU to a 76-75 win. McLaughlin once again hit the dagger in last season's matchup in the Rolle Activity Center with his 3-pointer with 18 seconds left lifting the 'Jacks to a 75-74 victory.
"UIW is a veteran team and they have (Daivon) Bailey back and he can really score the ball," said head coach Shane Burcar. "They're a very talented team who beat McNeese. They're long and athletic and they have a chip on their shoulder because we got them the last two years. It's going to be a very good mid-major game on a Sunday afternoon."
UIW is 5-6 overall and 1-2 in Southland Conference play this season and has dropped three consecutive games since earning an impressive victory over McNeese, currently ranked No. 19 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Majory Top 25, on Dec. 1. The Cardinals return home, where they are 4-0 this season, after a narrow 69-65 loss to TCU on Monday which capped a stretch of three straight road games.
UIW is top 100 in the country in scoring at 82.5 points per game. The Cardinals are 91st in field goal percentage (.475) and 16th in 3-point percentage (.398), while also ranking in the top 100 in offensive rebounds (12.9) and rebound margin (5.4).
The Cardinals boast a dynamic duo in Daivon Bailey and Tahj Staveskie. Bailey is the 13th-leading scorer in the country at 21.6 points per game and is third with 3.9 3-pointers made per game. Meanwhile, Staveskie is averaging 17.7 points per game, giving UIW two of the top three scorers in the Southland Conference, and is 87th nationally with 4.8 assists per game.
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