Weber State basketball: Wildcats hit road to face struggling Lumberjacks

If the Weber State men's basketball team is going to earn the right to host this year's Big Sky Conference postseason championship tournament, the Wildcats will have to do so by winning on the road.

And that journey begins Thursday when Weber State begins a stretch that will find the Wildcats facing four of their final five regular-season conference games away from the cozy confines of the Dee Events Center, where they're undefeated (13-0) this season.

Thursday's opponent, Northern Arizona, wouldn't appear to pose too much of a challenge to the Wildcats' quest to claim the regular-season crown.

The Lumberjacks have lost 11 straight games, including an 81-67 setback in Ogden three weeks ago, and they have lost seven straight times to Weber State.

What's more, the 'Jacks are the league's lowest-scoring team at 62.4 points per game, while the Wildcats lead the league in scoring with 79.4 ppg.

Weber State's dynamic duo of junior guards, Damian Lillard and Scott Bamforth, continues to lead the way. Lillard, the nation's leading scorer at 25.5 points per game, poured in 75 points in two Weber State wins last week, while Bamforth averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists in victories over Portland State and Northern Colorado.

The Wildcats are wary of their trip to NAU, which will be followed by their final Big Sky home game Saturday against Eastern Washington.

"It is always tough to play in Flagstaff and NAU has been playing a lot of close games lately," Wildcats coach Randy Rahe said. "They are always a difficult team to guard and they have some talented players. We always have to be ready to play every night in this league."

James Douglas leads the Lumberjacks in scoring at 13 points per game, which ranks 10th in the Big Sky. And Stallon Saldivar, a Salt Lake City native, is second in the conference in assists with 5.2 per game.

Wildcats on the air

Weber State (18-4, 10-1) at Northern Arizona (5-19, 1-11)

Thursday, 6:30 p.m. MT

TV: Fox College Sports Pacific Radio: 1280 AM

email: rhollis@desnews.com