The following story is syndicated from NAU Athletics and rewritten by JackCentral.com staff.

The NAU men’s basketball team captured their first win on the year at the Skydome against UC-Riverside on Dec. 13. The 68-56 Lumberjack win gave NAU its first victory in the past four games.

The Lumberjacks’ defense held strong by keeping UC-Riverside’s shooters at a 30 percent shooting clip in the first half. NAU’s defense allowed the offense to gain up to a 14-point lead at halftime. UC-R had no answer for the same pesky defense in the second half as NAU maintained an 11-point lead for the rest of the contest.

“We know when we play with a lot of energy and passion we can be a pretty good defensive team,” said junior guard Cameron Jones. “That’s what we worked on this week. We knew we had to play defensive. Coach Hix gave us a good scout and we executed it to the best of our abilities.”

Cameron Jones and fellow junior Deangelo Jones led the way for NAU’s offense with 17 points apiece. Jones started the contest in favor of freshman guard Gabe Rodgers due to an ankle sprain Rodgers suffered in practice on Friday. Jones took advantage of the starting role by shooting 8-for-13 from the field in 30 minutes of play.

“DeAngelo has the ability to drive to the basket and get fouls,” said Cameron Jones. “Our offense is better when he is creating and making plays.”

The Lumberjacks’ next matchup sends the team to the Pitt on Wednesday, Dec. 16 to face undefeated New Mexico.