FORT DEFIANCE, Ariz. – Junior forward Ako Kaluna registered a double-double tonight and it was a win-win for Northern Arizona (1-3) over Embry-Riddle (1-5) tonight at Window Rock High School on the Navajo Nation. The Lumberjacks defeated the Eagles 90-57, but the opportunity of playing on the Navajo Nation was priceless. Both teams came together to bridge the gap between diversity and inclusion, and the basketball fans turned out to watch.

"Tonight was amazing," said head coach Jack Murphy. "It's a beautiful arena. There are wonderful people here and they're great basketball fans. There's a line of people here right now waiting in line for autographs. It's great to see a passion for basketball here on the Navajo Nation that's unrivaled."

Going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free throw line in the first half was junior guard Kris Yanku. He tallied 12 points in the half and finished with a team-high 17 points. Yanku had an all-around game adding seven assists, and four rebounds with just one turnover in 25 minutes of play.

The Eagles, who are in their first year of basketball at the NAIA school in Prescott, Ariz., hung in with the Lumberjacks for a good portion of the first half.

NAU came on strong in the second half hitting eight three-pointers and shooting 57.1 percent from the floor in the second half to take a commanding lead on the Eagles.

The Lumberjacks win tonight was a full team effort as 15 players got in the game with 12 of them scoring. NAU was able to pace itself, dishing out an amazing 19 assists in the game and coming away with seven steals.

Embry-Riddle was led by Nick Agostino, who recorded a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds. Former Lumberjack and current Eagle Jaran Hoover finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

"It's a really cool experience to be able to come out here and play a game," said Yanku. "Their facilities are great and I enjoyed being able to take part in today. (Monday) provides us a good chance to get out in front of our home crowd. The new guys are getting better, and we're constantly improving."

The Lumberjacks return home on Monday, Nov. 23 to host San Diego Christian at 7 p.m. at the Rolle Activity Center.

Notes: Over 2,300 fans packed the Window Rock High School gym on the Navajo Nation of Window Rock to watch Northern Arizona and Embry-Riddle play. It was the first collegiate game in the arena, as it saw NAU win the game 90-57.