FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 5, 2025) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team plays their first game away from Flagstaff in nearly four weeks on Saturday with their second and final game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge at North Dakota State. Tip-off at the Scheels Center in Fargo, N.D. is 6 p.m. MST.
The pregame show with
Mitch Strohman on the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network begins at 5:30 p.m. MST. The game will be streamed live on the
Summit League Network.
The Lumberjacks last played a game on the road on Nov. 11 when they traveled down to Tucson to face No. 5/6 Arizona. Saturday will mark NAU's first game outside of Arizona since the season opener versus Drake on Nov. 3 in Sioux Falls, S.D. After Saturday, NAU will play at Arizona State and San Diego next week before its next home game.
NAU looks to pick up its first road win of the season, and get back into the win column, after falling to South Dakota State, 75-62, on Wednesday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak and dropped NAU's record to 4-3.
Arne Osojnik and
Zack Davidson scored in double-figures with 16 and 11 points respectively against the Jackrabbits. For Osojnik, who is one of four Lumberjacks averaging double-figures at 10.1 points per game, the 16 points marked a season-high.
Davidson leads the team with 15.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, while ranking 33rd in the country in field goal percentage (.621). Davidson has scored in double-figures in three straight games and five of six games he has played overall.
Ryan Abelman (12.3) and
Isaiah Shaw (10.3) are also averaging at least 10 points per game. Both Lumberjacks, along with Davidson, have a pair of 20-point games this season for an NAU squad that is averaging 78.4 points per game.
Although NAU has made (51) and attempted (140) the fewest 3-pointers in the Big Sky, the Lumberjacks have been shot the 3-point ball well, ranking fourth in the league and 81st in the country in 3-point percentage (.364). That will be key against a North Dakota State team that is third in the Summit League in 3-point percentage defense (.316).
The 'Jacks will also have to take care of the ball, which they have done well at averaging only 10.9 turnovers per game, versus the Bison. North Dakota State is one of the nation's best in turnover margin. The Bison force 16.9 turnovers per game, good for 18th nationally, in holding the sixth-best turnover margin (6.3).
North Dakota State picked up an impressive 81-72 road victory over preseason Big Sky favorite Montana on Wednesday to open the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. Picked to finish fourth in the preseason Summit League poll, the Bison are 6-3 following their win in Missoula and an unbeaten 4-0 at home.
Andy Stefonowicz, one of the country's top point guards, runs the Summit League's second-best scoring offense at 80.6 points per game. Stefonowicz ranks 32nd in the nation with 48 total assists and 84th with a 2.82 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Damari Wheeler-Thomas leads the team in scoring with 15.0 points per game. He is shooting 42.9% from 3-point range. Markhi Strickland is averaging 14.4 points per game and like Davidson, is one of the top players nationally in field goal percentage. Strickland is shooting 62.8% from the field.
This will be the fourth all-time meeting between NAU and North Dakota State. The Bison have won the three previous meetings, most recently a 70-58 win over the 'Jacks on a neutral floor in San Francisco in 2011. The two teams also played a home-and-home during the 2008-09 season, with this Saturday's matchup the first for NAU in Fargo since Dec. 22, 2008.
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