MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) Aaseem Dixon hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points to help No. 4 seed Northern Arizona beat fifth-seeded Northern Colorado 63-57 in the first round of the Big Sky tournament on Thursday night.
Northern Arizona (19-13) will play top-seeded Montana in a semifinal game on Friday.
Kris Yanku scored 15 points and Ako Kaluna chipped in 10 for Northern Arizona, which never trailed. The Lumberjacks shot just 22 of 58 (38 percent) from the field but hit 12 of 13 free throws, including 12 straight, compared with the Bears 12-of-18 shooting from the line.
Northern Colorado tied it twice in the second half, and was within 52-51 with 5:26 to play. Back-to-back 3s by Quinton Upshur and Dixon pushed the Lumberjacks' lead up to 58-51 with 2:17 remaining.
Tevin Svihovec and Cameron Michael scored 13 points apiece for Northern Colorado (15-15).
