RENO, Nev. – Ako Kaluna powered Northern Arizona on both the offensive and defensive end recording his 20^th double figure scoring game of the season, as the 11^th seeded Lumberjacks ended their the first round of the Big Sky Tournament 74-52 to No. 6 seed Eastern Washington.

The Lumberjacks played nine players tonight and their youth showed. NAU played one junior, one sophomore, and eight freshmen in the game tonight. The freshmen scored the final 16 points for NAU in the third meeting of the season versus the Eagles.

"I was really proud of our team and how they competed," said head coach Jack Murphy. "We came out here tonight and gave it all we had. The first half we had a ton of energy and you saw it out there. The second half our youth started to show. This was a good learning experience for this young team and I think our future is very bright."

The Lumberjacks started the game as if the seed on the tournament bracket didn't matter. With the help of Kaluna and Isaiah Thomas, NAU began the game on a 6-0 run and held the lead until the Eagles were able to go up 13-12 around the 13-minute mark. The game was tight the majority of the half after that with both teams taking turns carrying the lead. Near the end of the first, Eastern Washington was able to capitalize on a few miscues and go on a 9-0 run for a 32-26 advantage. The Eagles controlled the game from there and entered the half up 36-29 with the help of Venky Jois' nine points and seven rebounds.

NAU and Eastern Washington traded baskets to begin the second half with the Eagles leading 46-35 at the first media timeout. Eastern Washington turned the table and took its first double digit lead of the game with a 43-33 advantage with 17:25 left to play.

Turnovers midway through the half put a bump in the road for the Lumberjacks as they faced a 56-39 deficit with 9:21 remaining. Whereas the NAU big men carried NAU to start the game, it was the guards who got into the shooting in the second half.

NAU was held to just 23 second half points, while the Eagles put up 38. Jois notched a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Austin McBroom led all players with 16 points, while Bogdan Bliznyuk added 15 points. The Eagles shot 44.6 percent from the floor and 31.1 percent from behind the arc. Eastern Washington improves to 17-14 on the season as it advances to the next round.

The Lumberjacks had double the amount of free throw attempts than the Eagles, but connected on just 19 field goals. Kaluna registered 11 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.

The Lumberjacks end the season 5-25, after having one of the youngest teams in the nation this season. NAU does not lose any players to graduation with the hopes of returning redshirt seniors Jordyn Martin and Jaleni Neely, who were both sidelined before the start of conference play.