FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 27, 2025) – Refreshed off the holiday break, the Northern Arizona men's basketball team returns to Findlay Toyota Court at the Walkup Skydome for Monday night basketball against Benedictine Mesa at 6 p.m. MST.
Tickets can be purchased at this
link.
Mitch Strohman and
James Malamas will have the call on
ESPN+ and the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network starting with the pregame show begins at 5:30 p.m. MST.
With the start of conference play looming with the start of the new year, the Lumberjacks (5-7) hope regain momentum, having dropped five of their last six games in the month of December. Prior to the holiday, NAU fell to UIW, 90-66, on Dec. 21. The 90 points allowed were the most by NAU this season.
While the loss extended NAU's winless record on the road this season, the Lumberjacks are 5-1 at home this season. NAU's success in Flagstaff includes a 65-57 victory over Southern Utah in its first game in the Skydome on Dec. 18.
Ryan Abelman leads the Lumberjacks into their non-conference finale on a hot streak. Following a 16-point performance against UIW, Abelman is averaging 14.0 points per game over the last five games. During this stretch, he is shooting 46.7% (14-for-30) from behind the arc and 49.0% overall (25-for-51). Overall for the season, Abelman is averaging 13.0 points per game, second on the team behind
Zack Davidson's 14.7.
Abelman has been a workhorse, nearly cracking the top 50 nationally in minutes played at 34.3. In addition to averaging career-highs across the board, Abelman is 71st in Division I and fourth in the Big Sky among qualifying players in 3-point percentage (.405).
Backing Abelman in recent weeks is
Karl Poom, who has a consecutive games with double-digit points off the bench. Against Southern Utah and UIW, Poom averaged 10.5 points and 5.0 rebounds, while shooting 60.0% (9-for-15) from the floor.
NAU, facing Benedictine Mesa for the sixth time in program history, is 5-0 all-time versus the Redhawks. That includes a 110-74 win last season at home, similarly the final non-conference game before NAU entered Big Sky play.
In two career games versus Benedictine Mesa,
Oakland Fort has been near-perfect. Fort is averaging 16.0 points and 6.5 assists in 23.5 minutes per game against the Redhawks. In last season's meeting, Fort shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the field in a 17-point effort. Overall in two games, Fort is 12-of-15 (.800) from the field and is perfect behind the arc (6-for-6) and at the charity stripe (2-for-2). Additionally, he has 13 assists against only one turnover.
Although the Redhawks are a non-Division I opponent, they pose a challenge for the Lumberjacks in their ramp-up to the 18-game conference slate. Benedictine Mesa is currently ranked No. 22 in the NAIA Coaches Top 25 and is a perfect 15-0 on the season.
The Redhawks return to the court for the first time in nearly two weeks since they upset No. 15 Carroll College, 102-80. The win was their second nationally-ranked win in December after handing No. 2 Arizona Christian an 82-70 defeat.
Averaging 88.8 points per game, Benedictine Mesa is tied for 14th in the NAIA in scoring offense. The Redhawks are shooting 51.7% as a team, good for seventh in the NAIA, while allowing only 63.3 points per game which is fifth-fewest.
Led by former NAU graduate assistant Frank Woodford, Benedictine Mesa has five players averaging double-digit points, led by Isaiah Howard's 13.5 per game. Howard also leads the team with 57 assists. Damian Zivak is the Redhawks' second-leading scorer at 12.1 points per game and paces the team with 34 3-pointers made at a 43% clip.
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