FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 21, 2025) – Northern Arizona Basketball (18-15, 8-10 Big Sky) is headed to Daytona Beach for the 2025 Purple CBI Tournament, set to take on the Queens Royals (19-14, 11-7 ASUN) on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. MST, fans can watch the game streaming through FloCollege, or head to The Oakmont in Flagstaff for NAU Athletics' official watch party of the game.
It will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs, and marks the Lumberjacks return to a postseason tournament for the first time since 2015. The Lumberjacks picked up a Big Sky Tournament victory over the No. 8 Eastern Washington Eagles in a 66-53 final before dropping in the second-round matchup to the No. 2 Montana Grizzlies in a 74-65 final, who went on to win the tournament and move on to the NCAA Tournament. The Royals found a similar fate in their conference tournament, picking up a 71-65 victory over No. 3 Florida Gulf Coast before falling in the semifinals to No. 1 seeded Lipscomb in overtime, 81-75, who went on to win the ASUN tournament and move on to the NCAA tournament.
The 2025 CBI will be a single-elimination, fully bracketed men's basketball postseason tournament featuring 12 teams from across the country competing for a championship in Florida. The field will consist of teams not selected for the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Seattle defeated High Point 77-67 to capture the title behind a 30-point effort from the CBI MVP, Cameron Tyson. The tournament has gained traction in recent years since its start in 2008 and previous champions include programs such as Charlotte, UNC Wilmington, North Texas, Pittsburgh, Oregon, VCU, Oregon State, and Tulsa.
Northern Arizona is coming off their best season under head coach
Shane Burcar, with 17 regular season wins, marking the program's most since the 2015 campaign. Burcar was named a finalist for the collegeinsider.com 2024-25 Skip Prosser Man of the Year award, as the organization announced ahead of conference tournaments. The Skip Prosser Man of the Year award honors those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who display moral integrity on and off it as well. The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com. The 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, TX, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
The Jacks head into the tournament led by All-Conference awarded
Trent McLaughlin and
Carson Towt, both who became members of NAU's 1,000-point club this season. In addition, Towt became just the second-ever player in program history to record 1,000 rebounds, just before becoming the record holder while breaking the 63-year record that was set at 1,044 rebounds. Towt leads the nation in rebounding, averaging 12.4 boards a contest, while currently just 10 rebounds shy of tying the Big Sky Conference's single-season record set at 420. Towt has recorded 19 double-doubles performances this season, ranking fifth in the country. McLaughlin has steadily remained in the nation's top scorers all season long and will enter the tournament second in the nation with 22.3 points per game. McLaughlin has posted 24 20+ point scoring games this season, six of those being 30+ point scoring games while posting his career high of 35 points on three separate occasions.
Diego Campisano has hit five three-pointers for the Jacks in their last three contests, averaging 12.5 points while picking up 16 points in NAU's Big Sky Tournament win over EWU, hitting four triples in that matchup alone. As a team, the Jacks are shooting 45.5 percent from the field, leading opponents on the glass by an average margin of 5.6 rebounds. NAU averages just 10.2 turnovers per game while posting 14.9 assists a night.
Queens enters Sunday's matchup led by ASUN Defensive Player of the Year, Malcom Wilson. Wilson led the country in blocked shots this season, also becoming the first player in DI history to pick up 100+ blocks in a single season. Wilson, a Georgetown transfer, was named a Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award Finalist. Chris Ashby and Leo Colimerio also brought in ASUN all-conference honors, as Ashby became the first player in DI history to make 100+ threes in a single season as he led the country in triples made.
The Royals have shot 44.6 percent from the field this season, holding opponents to 44.1 percent on the defensive end of the ball. Averaging 37.3 rebounds per game, Wilson leads the team on the glass with 5.5 boards a night, closely trailed by 5.2 from Colimerio and 4.9 from Jaxon Pollard. Queens' averages 16.0 assists per game while turning the ball over on average 12.5 times a content.
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