FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 10, 2026) – With the regular season rapidly approaching its conclusion, the Northern Arizona men's basketball team prepares for their final two-game homestand of the season this week at Findlay Toyota Court at the Walkup Skydome. The Lumberjacks open the week versus league-leading Portland State Thursday night before hosting Sacramento State on Saturday. Both games will tip-off at 6 p.m. MST.
Mitch Strohman and
James Malamas will have the call on
ESPN+ and the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network. The radio pregame show begins at 5:30 p.m. MST on both days. Tickets can be purchased at this
link.
Although the Lumberjacks will have one final home game on Monday, March 2, they will celebrate Senior Day on their final Saturday night home game this season. NAU will honor
Traivar Jackson,
Oakland Fort and
Diego Campisano prior to tip-off against Sacramento State Saturday evening.
The Lumberjacks (9-16, 3-9 Big Sky) are coming off a split on the road last week with a win at Idaho State followed by a loss to Weber State. NAU has won three of its last five games, including two of its last three home games.
Ryan Abelman scored 21 points last week in NAU's 79-73 road win at Idaho State, notching his team-leading fifth 20-point game of the season. The Lumberjacks are a perfect 5-0 this season when Abelman reaches the 20-point plateau.
Abelman, averaging 11.4 points this season, will provide a big boost to the Lumberjacks on Thursday after missing NAU's first meeting against Portland State last month. Over his last five games, Abelman is averaging 13.6 points and is shooting 52.0% (13-of-25) from 3-point range.
Against Weber State last Saturday,
Isaiah Shaw netted his seventh double-digit scoring game of the season and his fourth game with at least 3 3-pointers made. Shaw is shooting 42.9% from behind the arc overall this season, helping the Lumberjacks to the 22nd-best 3-point percentage in the country (.380).
The Lumberjacks will hope to avenge a pair of road losses to Portland State and Sacramento State this week, after letting opportunities slip away against both teams last month. In its first meeting with Sacramento State, NAU led by five at the half and 10 early in the second half before a crucial run by the Hornets flipped the script in an eventual 83-69 loss. Two days later, NAU battled first-place Portland State and kept the Vikings at bay for much of the game. The Lumberjacks only allowed 63 points, but a tough shooting night was detrimental in a 63-52 defeat.
In its lone game last week, Portland State edged Sacramento State, 74-73, for its third consecutive victory. Portland State sits alone at the top of the Big Sky with a 10-1 league record. The Vikings are 16-6 overall and a perfect 5-0 in Big Sky road games.
As they have all season, the Vikings have been the Big Sky's top defensive team in conference play, ranking first in scoring defense (68.5), opponent field goal percentage (.401) and opponent 3-point percentage (.308). The Vikings are averaging 76.5 points per game offensively.
Keyon Kensie Jr. paced the Vikings in scoring in their first meeting against the 'Jacks, scoring 20 points and also grabbing eight rebounds. Terri Miller Jr. ranks second in the conference in scoring in Big Sky games at 21.0 points per game. Miller Jr. recorded 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals versus NAU last month.
Prior to its narrow loss to Portland State last Saturday, Sacramento State had been on a roll, winning three straight games including wins over Montana and Montana State. With their recent surge, the Hornets are squarely in the middle of the Big Sky standings at 5-6 in league play, and a 9-14 overall record. Sacramento State is 0-12 on the road though, entering the week.
Sacramento State is the highest scoring team in the league in conference play, averaging 81.8 points per game, but on the flip side, the Hornets allow a league-worst 84.5 points on average. The Hornets rank 17th in the country in free throws made per game (19.2) and free throw percentage (.776) on the season.
The dynamic duo of Prophet Johnson and Mikey Williams pace the Hornets with Johnson (20.7) and Williams (20.1) ranking third and fifth respectively in the Big Sky in scoring in conference play. Johnson erupted for 29 points, six rebounds, four assists and six steals against NAU in the teams' first meeting, while Williams missed the game with an injury.
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