Vartiainen leads Weber State against Northern Arizona after 20-point game

By Canadian Press on January 7, 2026.

Weber State Wildcats (7-8, 1-1 Big Sky) at Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (6-9, 0-2 Big Sky)

Flagstaff, Arizona; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Weber State visits Northern Arizona after Viljami Vartiainen scored 20 points in Weber State’s 95-82 win over the Sacramento State Hornets.

The Lumberjacks have gone 6-1 at home. Northern Arizona is 4-6 against opponents with a winning record.

The Wildcats are 1-1 against conference opponents. Weber State has a 0-3 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

Northern Arizona makes 46.7% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.3 percentage points higher than Weber State has allowed to its opponents (43.4%). Weber State averages 10.6 more points per game (84.7) than Northern Arizona gives up (74.1).

The Lumberjacks and Wildcats meet Thursday for the first time in Big Sky play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ryan Abelman averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Lumberjacks, scoring 11.9 points while shooting 38.4% from beyond the arc. Zack Davidson is shooting 63.4% and averaging 12.9 points over the past 10 games.

Tijan Saine is averaging 13.5 points and 4.3 assists for the Wildcats. Jace Whiting is averaging 12.5 points and 3.7 assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Lumberjacks: 3-7, averaging 70.1 points, 28.4 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 7.7 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.9 points per game.

Wildcats: 5-5, averaging 81.8 points, 34.3 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 8.1 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.2 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

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