FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- Northern Arizona (2-5) fell to North Carolina Central 40-36 in its final game of the Emerald Coast Classic held at The Arena in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Quinton Upshur led all scorers with 13 points, in addition to seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
NCCU (3-3) scored the first-four points of the game, but Jordyn Martin halted the Eagles' progress with a soft jumper in the lane. From there, Ako Kaluna hit a three-pointer to give the Lumberjacks a 5-4 lead with 16 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Lumberjacks and Eagles exchanged leads throughout the rest of the first half, as both teams struggled to score in the final two minutes of the half. The teams went into halftime with the score tied at 19-All.
NAU led by as many as six points in the second half, as it ran the court well to get quick points in the paint.
Upshur registered a layup at the 11:41 mark to give NAU a 31-27 lead, but from there the Lumberjacks went on a scoring drought as its next basket did not come until the 2:23 mark when Jaleni Neely hit a pair of free throws. By then NAU trailed the Eagles 38-33.
Despite its shots not falling for a lengthy period of time, the Lumberjacks started to catch a rhythm as a three-pointer by Upshur brought NAU to within two points with 1:23 on the clock.
NCCU was fouled a minute later as Anthony McDonald hit two free throws to take a 40-36 edge. The points would be the final two of the game as the Eagles held on for the four-point victory.
NAU struggled from the free throw line, as it was unable to capitalize on the minimal chances it had at the charity stripe. The Lumberjacks shot 31.7 percent from the floor for the game and 37.5 percent from long range.
Jordan Parks had 12 points and six rebounds to lead NCCU. Anthony McDonald registered 10 points, while Nimrod Hilliard added six points and nine rebounds. The Eagles shot 33.3 percent from the floor, 14.3 percent from three-point range and 58.3 percent from the free throw line.
