Jan. 31, 2008

Weekly Release: Northern Arizona, at Sacramento State

Games #21-22

Northern Arizona (14-7, 6-2 Big Sky) at Northern Colorado (8-12, 2-6 Big Sky)

Thursday, Jan. 31 • Greeley, Colo. • Butler-Hancock (2,734) • 7:05 p.m.

Northern Colorado at Sacramento State (3-16, 1-7 Big Sky)

Saturday, Feb. 2 • Sacramento, Calif. • Hornets Nest (1,200) • 7:05 p.m. Pacific

 

The Series.......................... NAU................. SAC

   Overall Record.................. 1-2................... 2-4

   In Greeley......................... 0-1................... 2-2

   At Opponent...................... 1-1................... 0-2

   At Neutral Sites.................. 0-0................... 0-0

   Last Meeting................... Dec. 30............ Dec. 28

   Boyle vs........................... 1-2................... 2-1

 

The Coaches

   Northern Colorado......... Tad Boyle (12-36, 2nd year)

   Sacramento St..... Jerome Jenkins (79-138, 8th year)

   Northern Arizona...... Mike Adras (143-113, 9th year)

 

Radio

   KFKA 1310 AM......... Troy Coverdale, play-by-play

 

Audio Streaming

   KFKA................. http://KFKA2.serverroom.us:7528

 

Television

   None

 

Video Streaming

   Big Sky............................................. bigskytv.org

 

Live Stats

                Sacramento State       hornetsports.com

 

Looking For A Win

Northern Colorado is looking to avoid its longest losing streak of the season with a victory over Northern Arizona on Thursday evening. Earlier this season in Flagstaff, the Lumberjacks defeated the Bears 86-70. The game marks the beginning of the second half of Big Sky Conference play and the Bears have five of their final eight conference tilts away from Butler-Hancock with the final non-conference game of the year at home against Johnson+Wales on Feb. 12. The Bears have lost four straight for the second time this year and for the first time have lost back-to-back games at home.

 

Series History

This will be just the fourth meeting between Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado with the Lumberjacks holding the 2-1 advantage in the all-time series. All of the game have been since the Bears joined the Big Sky Conference last season. Saturday marks the seventh game between Northern Colorado and Sacramento State. The Hornets hold the slight 4-2 advantage, but the Bears lead 2-1 in meetings in Big Sky play, including a 74-60 victory earlier this season in Greeley. NC is looking for its first win in Sacramento, sporting an 0-2 record in the capital city.

 

Back On Track

After scoring in double figures in 12 of the first 15 games of the season, junior forward Jabril Banks went three straight without scoring 10 points in a contest, but rebounded to hit double digits in the last two, scoring 10 against Montana State and leading the Bears with 16 against Montana. Banks leads the team with 13.0 points per game and is the only Bear averaging double figures.

 

Double Trouble

Junior guard Robert Palacios notched the fifth double-double of the year for the Bears and his second  with 11 points and 12 rebounds against Montana State on Thursday. Palacios also led the game with three steals. It was his fourth game in double figures in scoring and his second with 10 or more rebounds.

 

Injury Plagued Class

Senior guard Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos got bitten by the same bug as his fellow fourth-year seniors, the injury bug. Panagiotakopoulos injured his knee in the game against Montana and is out for this weekend. Fellow seniors Kirk Archibeque and Sean Taibi have also suffered injuries this season with Archibeque missing 16 games due to a concussion, while Taibi has missed six games with a knee injury.

 

Glass Cleaners

Despite the outcome in the scoring column, Northern Colorado continues to crash the boards, as they have out-rebounded five of its last six opponents. The Bears hold a +3.5 rebounding margin, good for the third best in the Big Sky. Six different times this year the Bears have held a double-figure rebounding advantage, and are 5-1 in those games.

 

Taking Care Of The Ball

In the last two games, the Bears committed just 10 turnovers in each, the fewest amount of fumbles this season. The Bears are now averaging 18.2 turnovers a game and have managed fewer turnovers than the opponent in each of the last three games.

 

Thank You Fans

Northern Colorado is averaging 1,358 per game in attendance this season, the highest average in school history. In 2005, the Bears averaged 1,085 fans per game for the only other season in recent history where they averaged more than 1,000 per game.

 

Arc Madness

Though the streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer did not end on Saturday, it came close as the Bears made a season-low two from beyond the arc. The Bears have made at least one three-pointer in the last 35 games and are averaging 6.1 triples per game this season after connecting on just seven in the last two games. In the previous two games, both overtime games, the Bears tallied a season-high 16 from beyond the arc at Eastern Washington and followed with 11 at Portland State.

 

Second Chances

Freshman forward Taylor Montgomery gave the Bears several second opportunities against Montana State as he tallied a career-high six offensive rebounds. The Bears lead the Big Sky Conference with 12.40 offensive rebounds per game with Montgomery getting 2.3 of those.

 

The Future's So Bright

Northern Colorado has the top rebounding freshman and sophomore in the Big Sky Conference this season. Freshman Taylor Montgomery is averaging 4.3 caroms a game to rank 18th overall, while sophomore Jefferson Mason averages 5.3 to rank 12th in the league.

 

It's Been A While

For the first time since 1957-58, Northern Colorado played in back-to-back overtime games falling to Eastern Washington, 91-85 and 85-83 to Portland State. In 1957-58, Northern Colorado lost 42-40 to Pandhandle A&M on Dec.7 and 78-72 to Fort Hays State on Dec. 14. It marked the third time in school history the team played consecutive extra period games as the 1956-57 squad also did so in February, defeating Air Force 95-83 and dropping a 77-73 decision to Colorado College.

 

Five And Twenty

For the fifth time this season, a Bear scored at least 20 points in a game when senior guard Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos went for a career-high 22 at Portland State. Sophomore guard Will Figures (20), senior guard Sean Taibi (22) and junior forward Jabril Banks (21) all scored 20 or more in the season-opener against VMI. Taibi also had 24 against Sacramento State.

 

Making Them Count

Sophomore forward Jefferson Mason tied a school record by hitting all 10 of his free throws at Portland State, which is also the best in the Big Sky this season (two others have made all of their attempts, but went 9-9).

 

Sky High

Several Bears have the top individual performances in the Big Sky this season. Both juniors Jabril Banks and Robert Palacios are tied for the best in the conference shooting 100 percent from the field (minimum five makes), and Banks has done so twice. Sophomore forward Jefferson Mason has the best free throw percentage after making all 10 of his attempts against Portland State. Palacios is tied for the best rebounding performance with his 14 against Colorado State and has the most steals in a game with his seven against Johnson + Wales.

 

Double Your Fun

The win against San Diego State was the second this year against a team from the Mountain West (Colorado State), and doubled the Bears win total from a year ago. The eight wins also ties for the most wins since becoming a member of Division I in 2003-04. In 2004-05 the Bears were 8-21.

 

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another

Freshman guard Devon Beitzel became the first-ever men's basketball player to be named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week, sharing the honors with Kyle Landry of Northern Arizona after the Bears' victory at San Diego State. Beitzel notched a career-high in scoring with 15 points and steals with four. He shot 7-of-12 from the field with one three-pointer and two rebounds in the 62-56 win.

 

Who Are You Going To Guard?

In the last nine games, Northern Colorado has had six different players lead the team in scoring, with junior forward Jabril Banks leading the way three times. Eight players this season have led the team at least once in the points column, with Banks leading nine times and senior guard Sean Taibi doing so three times.

 

Prince Of Thieves

In five different games this season, a Bear has recorded at least four steals in a game including a season-high seven by Robert Palacios. Last year, the Bears had only one player, Jefferson Mason against Montana, tally four or more steals in a contest.

 

Double, Double, Toil & Trouble

Of the 12 players who have seen action on the court this season, nine of them have scored at least 10 points in a game. The Bears have five players on the team who are averaging between 7-13 points per game, led by junior forward Jabril Banks with 13.0 a contest.

 

Banks To The Boards

Junior forward Jabril Banks has either led or shared the lead in rebounding in six of the first eight Big Sky Conference games. Banks is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game in league play, which ranks seventh in the league statistics. Overall this year, Banks is averaging 6.1 caroms per game to rank seventh in the Big Sky.

 

Starting Off

Head coach Tad Boyle has now used seven different starting lineups this season. Junior guard Robert Palacios is now the only player on the team to have started in all 20 games and 11 of the 12 players on the roster have started in at least one game with the lone exception being freshman guard Monice Garrett.

 

Take Two, They're Free

In the first meeting against Sacramento State, the Bears made 15-of-16 from the free throw line, posting a season-best .938 percentage. It is the best free throw percentage in a game since the Bears played at South Dakota State on Jan. 20, 2001 and also hit .938 (15-of-16).

 

Milestones

Terry Anderson needs 15 points for the 100th of his career and is 12 rebounds shy of the same mark. Will Figures is 23 points shy of 300 for his career, while Neal Kingman needs seven points for 100. Jefferson Mason is nine points shy of 350 for his career and eight rebounds shy of 200, while Taylor Montgomery needs 14 rebounds for 100.

 

Lucky Sevens

Twice this season, junior forward Jabril Banks has been perfect from the field when taking seven shots. In the season opener against VMI Banks posted an unblemished night, hitting all seven attempts from the field. He then repeated that performance at Denver. He has also made seven shots from the floor three other times (Denver, Colorado State, Bowling Green State). 

 

Leading The Way - As A Team

In the latest Big Sky Conference statistics, Northern Colorado leads the way in offensive rebounds  (12.40), is second in steals (7.35) and third in rebounding offense (35.5), rebound margin (+3.5) and defensive rebounds (23.10). In conference play, the Bears lead in offensive rebounds (11.88) and are third in rebounding offense (34.4) and steals (7.25).

 

Leading The Way - Individually

In the Big Sky individual statistics, junior forward Jabril Banks ranks fourth in field goal percentage (.573), seventh in scoring (13.0), seventh in rebounding (6.1), sixth in free throw percentage (.750) and seventh in defensive rebounds (4.10), while sophomore Jefferson Mason is fifth in free throw percentage (.771), junior Robert Palacios is fourth in steals (1.63), senior Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos is sixth in steals (1.40), sophomore Will Figures is second in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.479) and freshman Taylor Montgomery ranks sixth in offensive rebounds (2.30).

 

It's An Honor

Following the action on the court during the Air Force Classic, Northern Colorado had a pair players named to the All-Tournament Team in guards sophomore Will Figures and senior Sean Taibi. Figures averaged 19.5 point per game in the tournament while Taibi chipped in 16 points per game.

 

Postseason Eligible

The Northern Colorado men's basketball team is now eligible to compete in postseason play in 2007 after successfully making the transition to Division I. This year also marks the first year NC is eligible to win the Big Sky Conference Championship as well as compete in the Big Sky Tournament.

 

Picked Seventh/Eighth

Northern Colorado was chosen seventh by the coaches and eighth by the media in the Big Sky's Preseason Poll. The Bears received 19 points in the coaches poll and 56 in the media poll. The polls were also split with Weber State taking the coaches poll and Montana being chosen as the favorite by the media.

 

Scouting Northern Arizona

The Lumberjacks currently sit in first place in the Big Sky Conference standings with a 6-2 record and are 14-7 overall. Northern Arizona after the first half of league action is 3-0 at home and 3-2 on the road and split last week, defeating Weber State and dropping a 69-67 game at Idaho State.

 

Kyle Landry leads the team with 17.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game, while Josh Wilson is second in scoring (11.8) and leads with 5.7 assists per game. Also averaging double figures in scoring is Nate Reiser with 10.0 and 51 of his 65 shots from the field this season have been from beyond the arc.

 

Northern Arizona is averaging 73.3 points, 36.0 rebounds, 6.2 three-pointers, 16.4 assists, 15.9 turnovers, 6.4 steals and 2.3 blocked shots per game while shooting .478 from the field, .374 from three-point range and .724 from the free throw line. Opponents are averaging 68.5 points, 30.4 rebounds, 7.4 three-pointers, 13.6 assists, 14.2 turnovers, 6.6 steals and 3.8 blocks per game, while connecting on .417 from the floor, .352 from beyond the arc and .698 from the charity stripe.

 

Scouting Sacramento State

The Hornets won just one game in the first half of conference play and are 3-16 on the year. Last week, the fell 69-56 at Weber State and 86-63 at Idaho State and have lost their last five games, battling through injuries.

 

Loren Leath leads the team with 19.8 points, while guard Vinnie McGhee averages 11.6 points and 5.4 assists per game. Justin Williams leads the team with 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.

 

Sacramento State is averaging 64.4 points, 31.4 rebounds, 5.8 three-pointers, 11.6 assists, 15.8 turnovers, 9.1 steals and 3.0 blocks per game and are shooting .400 from the field, .331 from three-point range and just .597 from the free throw line. Opponents are averaging 76.6 points, 39.5 rebounds, 6.9 three-pointers, 18.3 assists, 17.9 turnovers, 7.4 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting .498 from the field, .382 from beyond the arc and .668 from the charity stripe.