CEDAR CITY, UT -- Southern Utah University's Men's Basketball team will head to Arizona to take on former Big Sky Conference opponent NAU on Sat, Dec 16 at 2 p.m.

The Lumberjacks
NAU is currently on a four-game winning streak and this will be their fourth game against a WAC opponent. They are currently 2-1 against the WAC with wins coming against Seattle U and Abilene Christian and a loss versus Grand Canyon. 

NAU is 5-5 on the year and has been averaging 66 points per game while giving up 74. Opponents shoot 45% from the field and 26% from three on average against the Lumberjacks. Opponents average six more rebounds per game than NAU.

Trent McLaughlin leads the way for NAU averaging 16 points per contest on 45% from the floor and nearly 39% from three. He also leads the team in steals with 18 on the year. Oakland Fort and Jayden Jackson are second and third on the team, scoring 10.5 points per game. Liam Lloyd leads the team in assists with 43 on the year but also has a team-high 30 turnovers. 

"NAU is a good team. They beat a good Seattle team that we lost to so we are going to need to play a really good game, but we are trending in the right direction as of late and our guys are excited to get after it after a week off," said Head Coach Rob Jeter.

The Thunderbirds
SUU still has all five starters averaging double-digit scoring. Dominique Ford leads the way at 14.4 points per game on nearly 41% from three. After his 29-point outburst last time out, Parsa Fallah isn't far behind at 13.3 points per game on a team-high 60% from the floor. Zion Young is averaging 12.7 while shooting a second-best on the team at 37% from deep. Braden Housley hasn't always had it going scoring the ball for SUU but is always able to impact the game positively. He's averaging 12.7 ppg to go along with 25 assists, and team-high 15 steals. Prophet Johnson continues to grow with each game, learning how to pick his spots and where he can best help the team. He is averaging 12.1 points per game, is one rebound away from leading the team with 44 on the year, and shoots it at an efficient 47% from the field. 

SUU as a team is continuing to score the ball well, coming in at second in the WAC in scoring and field goal percentage, but defensively have continued to struggle, giving up 77 points per game and allowing opponents to shoot nearly 50% from the field. 

"If we are going to reach our ultimate potential, it will start on the defensive side of the ball. We need to stay locked in on every possession. We have to start caring about teams being able to score on us, as soon as that happens we may end up being a pretty good ball team." said, Jeter. 

The game will be live streamed on ESPN+ and you can follow along with live stats. 

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