MISSOULA, Mont. — 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.
Kris Yanku scored 15 points for Northern Arizona (19-13), which never trailed.
Northern Colorado (15-15) tied it twice in the second half and was within 52-51 with 5:26 to play, but back-to-back 3s by Quinton Upshur and Dixon pushed the Lumberjacks’ lead to 58-51 with 2:17 remaining.
THURSDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
No. 2 Duke never trailed in a 77-53 victory over North Carolina State. … Josh Hart scored 20 points, and No. 4 Villanova rolled to an 84-49 victory over Marquette. … No. 5 Arizona ran away from Cal in the second half for a 73-51 victory. … Malcolm Brogdon scored all 10 of his points in the final nine minutes of Virginia‘s 58-44 victory over Florida State. … Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a career-high 25 points, and No. 9 Kansas beat pesky TCU 64-59. … Steve Vasturia hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 6:13 left, and No. 11 Notre Dame overcame a blown 20-point lead to hold off Miami 70-63. … Monte Morris hit an 18-foot jumper at the buzzer, capping a 12-0 closing run that lifted No. 13 Iowa State to a 69-67 victory over Texas. … Brice Johnson scored 18 of his 22 points after halftime to help No. 19 North Carolina outlast No. 14 Louisville 70-60. … Buddy Hield scored 22 points and sparked a 16-3 run early in the second half that helped send No. 15 Oklahoma to a 64-49 victory over Oklahoma State. … Taurean Prince scored 18 points off the bench, Royce O’Neale added 16, and No. 16 Baylor pulled away late for an 80-70 victory over West Virginia. … Matt Stainbrook had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead Xavier past No. 22 Butler in overtime, 67-61. … D’Vauntes Smith Rivera scored 25 points, and No. 23 Georgetown beat Creighton 60-55. … Isaac Hamilton scored 36 points, helping UCLA rout Southern California 96-70.
