Men's basketball advances
to Big Sky Championship

Is the third time a charm? The Northern Arizona men's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Big Sky Tournament for the third consecutive season with a 75-70 victory over Weber State in the semifinals Tuesday night.

The Lumberjacks will play host Portland State tonight for the title and the NCAA Tournament berth. NAU will be seeking its first berth since the 2000 season. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and broadcast nationally on Sirius Radio channel 122.

Senior Kyle Landry scored a game-high 21 points, including eight in the final five minutes to help secure last night's victory. Nick Larson and Nate Geiser each contributed nine points, contributing a combined six three-pointers.

"It feels good especially after the losing streak we had in the middle of the season," said Landry, who broke the school's single season scoring mark with 551 points with his final bucket Tuesday. "I think we are starting to peak at the right time."

NAU shot 58.1 percent for the contest, making 25 of 43 attempts. The Lumberjacks added a 73 percent effort beyond the three-point line, making 11 out of 15 attempts.

"They played their tails off tonight," said Weber State coach Randy Rahe. "We gave up some good looks. We tried to overcome their shooting percentage."

Weber State finished the season 16-14.

NAU (21-10) tied a single-season school record with the win, equaling a feat accomplished four previous times in school history. NAU advances to the championship game for the fifth time under Mike Adras and seventh in the last 11 seasons. NAU is the fifth team in Big Sky history to advance to three or more consecutive championship games.