After being defeated by Weber State in all three of their matchups last season, including the conference championship, Northern Arizona exacted a little revenge in the early game of the Big Sky Conference Tournament Tuesday night, defeating the Wildcats 75-70.
The victory propels the Lumberjacks to their third consecutive conference championship game, where they will face Portland State with an NCAA tournament bid at stake at the Rose Garden Wednesday night.
Aided by the play of their first-team All-Big Sky performer, senior forward Kyle Landry, and one of their best shooting performances of the season, the Lumberjacks (21-10, 12-5) proved too much for Weber State (16-14, 10-7).
“Certainly our players picked a great time for having their best shooting night of the season,” said Northern Arizona head coach Mike Adras.
Landry ended the night with 21 points and seven rebounds, but provided countless uncontested shot opportunities for his teammates around the three-point arc by passing out of double teams in the post. The Lumberjacks shot a season-high 73 percent from three-point land, and 58 percent from the field for the game.
“The three-point shot really helped us tonight,” Adras said. “It probably provided the difference.”
Weber State junior forward Daviin Davis kept the Wildcats close with 14 first-half points; however, he was contained in the second half, finishing with 19 points for the game. Senior guard Dezmon Harris overcame a slow start to conclude with 15 points. But in the end, the visiting Wildcats were unable to overcome the terrific Lumberjack shooting performance.
After shooting only a combined five foul shots in the first half, the two teams engaged in a physical second half that saw three players foul out, and a combined 33 foul shots. Weber State was unable to keep their post players on the court because of the foul trouble, which provided Landry the freedom to roam around for easy buckets inside the paint.
“We certainly had last year’s game on our mind,” Landry said of Northern Arizona’s defeat at the hands of the Wildcats in last year’s Big Sky Tournament.
Despite being defeated in both games this season against Portland State, the Lumberjacks feel confident heading into the championship game.
“We are peaking at the right time, and we look forward to tomorrow,” Landry said.