Basketball season usually doesn't extend this far in Flagstaff. In fact, it never has.
But in a year that's already been full of firsts, coach Jack Murphy and his Northern Arizona team don't care what the calendar says as long as they're still playing.
"It's March 25, and we're talking about another game," Murphy said Wednesday. "That's pretty great."
It's rich but unfamiliar ground for NAU, which made it to the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament by winning the first two Division I postseason games in program history, defeating in-state foe Grand Canyon on March 18 and taking down Sacramento State with a 78-73 victory Saturday.
It next takes on Kent State Friday at the Walkup Skydome, with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
The Lumberjacks have been led by senior guard Quinton Upshur, a junior-college transfer who has been a revelation in his two years in Flagstaff.
The 6-foot-5 Upshur is the only player to start every game this season ? a school-record 35 so far ? and leads the team with 14.6 points per contest.
Against Sacramento State, he became the first two-year player to reach the 1,000-point mark at NAU.
"He's been a special player," Murphy said. "One of the best scorers, probably, in the school's history. And just a great all-around young man. We're very lucky to have him."
Kent State counters with Jimmy Hall, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward and the centerpiece of the Golden Flashes' slow-down, physical attack, averaging a team-high 15.9 points and 7.4 rebounds.
A win against Kent State would also give NAU its program-record 22nd victory of the season. The hunger to make history hasn't yet been satisfied.
"We want to win," Upshur said. "We're not just playing in the CIT for no reason. We're going out there trying to win this whole thing, so I think that motivation has guys on edge right now. We're going to do whatever we can to win that next game."
Friday's game
Kent State (23-11) at Northern Arizona (21-14)
Where: Walkup Skydome, Flagstaff.
NAU update: The Lumberjacks won the first two postseason games in program history during the opening rounds of the tournament, defeating Grand Canyon 75-70 and Sacramento State 78-73. ? F Jordyn Martin scored a career-high 27 points against Sacramento State, and G Quinton Upshur added 22 to become the first two-year player to reach the 1,000-point mark at NAU. ? A win against Kent State would set a program record for victories in a season. ? NAU has won seven straight games at home and is 11-2 overall this season at the Skydome. ? The team's only other postseason home game came in 1986, when it hosted Louisiana Tech in the NIT.
Kent State update: The Golden Flashes shared the Mid-American Conference regular-season title with Buffalo and Central Michigan, going 12-6 in the conference. ? This is Kent State's third straight road game in the CIT, having beaten Middle Tennessee and Texas A&M Corpus Christi previously. ? G Jimmy Hall leads the team with 15.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, and has scored in double figures 24 times this season. ? Kent State is holding opponents to 41 percent shooting and is 20-2 when allowing 65 points or fewer. ? This is the first meeting between NAU and Kent State.
But in a year that's already been full of firsts, coach Jack Murphy and his Northern Arizona team don't care what the calendar says as long as they're still playing.
"It's March 25, and we're talking about another game," Murphy said Wednesday. "That's pretty great."
It's rich but unfamiliar ground for NAU, which made it to the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament by winning the first two Division I postseason games in program history, defeating in-state foe Grand Canyon on March 18 and taking down Sacramento State with a 78-73 victory Saturday.
It next takes on Kent State Friday at the Walkup Skydome, with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
The Lumberjacks have been led by senior guard Quinton Upshur, a junior-college transfer who has been a revelation in his two years in Flagstaff.
The 6-foot-5 Upshur is the only player to start every game this season ? a school-record 35 so far ? and leads the team with 14.6 points per contest.
Against Sacramento State, he became the first two-year player to reach the 1,000-point mark at NAU.
"He's been a special player," Murphy said. "One of the best scorers, probably, in the school's history. And just a great all-around young man. We're very lucky to have him."
Kent State counters with Jimmy Hall, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward and the centerpiece of the Golden Flashes' slow-down, physical attack, averaging a team-high 15.9 points and 7.4 rebounds.
A win against Kent State would also give NAU its program-record 22nd victory of the season. The hunger to make history hasn't yet been satisfied.
"We want to win," Upshur said. "We're not just playing in the CIT for no reason. We're going out there trying to win this whole thing, so I think that motivation has guys on edge right now. We're going to do whatever we can to win that next game."
Friday's game
Kent State (23-11) at Northern Arizona (21-14)
Where: Walkup Skydome, Flagstaff.
NAU update: The Lumberjacks won the first two postseason games in program history during the opening rounds of the tournament, defeating Grand Canyon 75-70 and Sacramento State 78-73. ? F Jordyn Martin scored a career-high 27 points against Sacramento State, and G Quinton Upshur added 22 to become the first two-year player to reach the 1,000-point mark at NAU. ? A win against Kent State would set a program record for victories in a season. ? NAU has won seven straight games at home and is 11-2 overall this season at the Skydome. ? The team's only other postseason home game came in 1986, when it hosted Louisiana Tech in the NIT.
Kent State update: The Golden Flashes shared the Mid-American Conference regular-season title with Buffalo and Central Michigan, going 12-6 in the conference. ? This is Kent State's third straight road game in the CIT, having beaten Middle Tennessee and Texas A&M Corpus Christi previously. ? G Jimmy Hall leads the team with 15.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, and has scored in double figures 24 times this season. ? Kent State is holding opponents to 41 percent shooting and is 20-2 when allowing 65 points or fewer. ? This is the first meeting between NAU and Kent State.
