GAME NOTES: The NC Central Eagles and the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks will close out their stays in the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday afternoon at The Arena.

NCCU began this event with a pair of road losses in the preliminary round to Creighton (65-45) and Cincinnati (59-50) before playing Eastern Illinois on Friday afternoon and coming away with a 65-40 win. The Eagles, who are the odds-on favorite to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference this season, are 2-3 on the season.

NAU had lost two straight heading into its Friday afternoon bout with Southern University, when it battled into overtime to capture a 70-63 win. The Lumberjacks are just 2-4 on the season, with their only previous win coming at home against Fresno State on Nov. 20, 73-52.

This marks the first-ever meeting between the programs.

The Eagles barely broke a sweat in Friday's game, as they ran out to a 40-20 lead at intermission and cruised from there to the 25-point victory. They shot an impressive 48.9 percent from the field, which included an 8-of-16 showing from 3-point range, while holding EIU to a mere 31.8 percent shooting. Pacing four players in double figures was Dante Holmes, who poured in 14 points on 5- of-8 from the field. Jordan Parks tallied 13 points and nine rebounds, Karamo Jawara and Anthony McDonald netted 12 and 11, respectively, and Nimrod Hilliard dished out six assists.

On the season, NCCU shoots a respectable 45.8 percent from the field, but that only yields 68.6 ppg. Luckily its output on the defensive end of the floor (61.0 ppg) has been outstanding. All five starters average at least 8.7 ppg, with McDonald (13.2 ppg) leading the way. Parks brings 12.4 ppg to the table on nearly 60 percent field goal shooting, while Holmes (11.4 ppg), Jawara (9.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and Hilliard (8.7 ppg) are also solid.

The Lumberjacks saw a double-digit second-half lead disappear at the end of regulation when Southern forced overtime with just seven second left with a field goal, but the Lumberjacks took control in the extra session with the first points and led the rest of the way. They shoot 45.1 percent from the field, slightly better than Southern's 41.1 percent, and they outscored it from 3-point range, 18-9. Kris Yanku provided a spark off the bench with 18 points. Ako Kaluna scored 17 points and hauled in nine rebounds, while Quinton Upshur added 13 points.

NAU has been outperformed by its opponents this season, as it scores just 64.7 ppg on less than 39 percent field goal shooting while yielding 70.7 ppg on 47.1 percent from the floor. Upshur is the go-to scoring option with 13.5 ppg and has knocked down 2.7 3-pointers per game at a 42.1 percent clip. Yanky (12.3 ppg) and Aaseem Dixon (10.2 ppg) also score in double digits, although Dixon does so on a woeful 24.7 percent field goal shooting.

NCCU has been plagued by a difficult stretch of games in the early season and will enjoy a more evenly matched foe in this one. Expect the Eagles to continue on the winning track against the cold-shooting Lumberjacks.