EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- After 14 lead changes on Thursday, Evansville came away a 71-65 win over Northern Arizona in the CollegeInsider.com tournament championship game at the Ford Center.
It was the Lumberjacks first postseason tournament title game, and senior guards Aaseem Dixon and Quinton Upshur, along with sophomore guard Kris Yanku were named to the all-tournament team.
NAU (23-15) had a hard time getting into a rhythm with 14 turnovers. Despite playing in a sea of purple and orange, NAU never gave up and led 59-58 with 3:48 to go.
With three minutes remaining, Kris Yanku hit a pair of free throws to tie the Big Sky single season free throws record of 228 held by Weber State alum and current NBA player Damian Lillard. Yanku finished with a new conference record of 230.
With two minutes on the clock, NAU trailed by three points after Evansville hit a jumper to go up 64-61. The Lumberjacks were able to close the gap to one point, but the Purple Aces scored four straight points to seal the victory.
"Evansville did a great job in the last four minutes in the first half taking control of the game," NAU coach Jack Murphy said. "I thought our kids battled. We've been down a lot of times in this tournament and were able to pull it out for a win."
The Lumberjacks took their biggest lead of the game at 56-51 with 5:39 remaining. But Evansville closed out on a 20-9 run, holding NAU to just one basket the rest of the game.
"We had a five point lead with five minutes to go," Murphy said. "But we just couldn't close it out. Our men have accomplished things that have never been done in school history."
The Lumberjacks ended their season tonight as the winningest team in school history with 23 victories.
"These guys are amazing. We've won 18 games since January 1st," Murphy said. "That's an incredible accomplishment. It was a great game we played tonight. The guys in that locker room did some unbelievable things this year and they should hold their heads high. We've done some great things this year and I am happy with the direction this program is going. Thank you to everyone in Lumberjack Country who cheered us on tonight and all season. We appreciate the support all year long."
The first half was filled with small ball. Neither team was able to connect from three-point range going a combined 0-for-10. Instead, Evansville tallied 18 points in the paint, while NAU picked up 16 points inside. It was a 7-0 run by the home team that saw the Purple Aces take a 29-21 halftime advantage.
NAU's eight-point deficit at the half did not deter the Lumberjacks from pushing forward. After inching its way back, it was an 8-0 run by NAU capped by an Ako Kaluna three-pointer that gave the Lumberjacks their first lead of the second half with 12 minutes left to play.
The Lumberjacks played their third game in seven days and tonight it was for the CIT Championship. Although the Lumberjacks came up short, it was a great run for a team that set many records along the way. Yanku led NAU with 18 points and six assists. Kaluna added 11 points and six rebounds, while Jordyn Martin had nine points and eight rebounds.
Tournament MVP D.J. Balentine finished with 16 points and four assists for Evansville. Egidiju Mockevicius registered a game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds.
