points, offensive rebounds, hustling after loose balls and, to cite specific examples, Merritt drawing two charging fouls to blunt one last NAU run. It brought an end to 20-plus years of dubious streaks. EWU, which joined Division I in 1983-84 and the Big Sky in 1987-88, had been 0-4 in Big Sky title games. It hadn't won a tournament -- any tournament -- since 1982, a span of 38 tournaments, including 10 championship-game losses.
"Everyone knew our past, that we got here three years in a row and came up short," Merritt said. "Having this tournament at home was huge. Our crowd was unbelievable. That put us over the top."
The Eagles (17-12) will learn their NCAA assignment on Sunday, but they figure to be a 14 or 15 seed. With a roster heavy on Washington-grown players, the Eagles would love to play in Seattle.
"But I really don't care," Snow said. "We're in the tourney."
To get there, the Eagles outscored NAU 42-26 in the second half to erase a four-point halftime deficit. It started with defense, where the Eagles slowed NAU's transition game. The Lumberjacks (15-14), which shot 65 percent in the first half, slumped to 32 percent in the second.
"We came out knowing we had to get it started on the defensive end," Axton said. "We just said, `We've got 20 minutes left or we're going home.' That was the basic concept."
Added Giacoletti: "We shot the ball well early, but we didn't guard like we did (Tuesday night in a semifinal win over Weber State). At half, we talked about having been here before. The crowd will help us get energized. Each defensive possession has to be like your last."
About that time, EWU's offense joined the party. The Eagles scored the first eight points of the second half to take a 37-33 lead.
The Eagles expanded the lead to 42-34 when Axton buried a 3-pointer. Merritt, standing nearby, raised his hands just after Axton released the ball, already knowing the shot's destination.
"They just came out in the second half ready to win it," NAU guard Chris Ferguson said. "They got on a run and we didn't stop it until it was out of control."
Axton, who joined Snow and Merritt on the All-Tournament team, finished with 19 points. Merritt scored a game-high 22 points. In two tournament games, he played 67 minutes and committed just one turnover.
"The ball just started dropping for me," Merritt said. "I know I'm a streaky shooter. If my first couple go, I feel comfortable the rest of the game."
The rest of the game was far from comfortable as NAU stayed within striking distance. But the Eagles got a major lift from reserve center Gregg Smith, who immediately blocked a shot and forced a turnover upon entering with 13 minutes remaining.
Smith had a layup and a pair of free throws as EWU hiked its lead to 54-45. An Axton 3-pointer, Danny Pariseau's pull-up jumper and two more Smith free throws sent EWU's lead to 61-45.
Most of that run came with NAU standout forward Aaron Bond on the bench with his fourth foul. By the time Bond returned 3 minutes later, EWU had turned a nine-point lead into 15.
NAU would get within 61-52 but Merritt and Axton had back-to-back buckets, sandwiched around the two charging fouls drawn by Merritt.
"Those two were huge," Snow said of Axton and Merritt. "Brendon took those two charges and `Ax' hit that shot, that kind of broke their backs."
Bond led the Lumberjacks with 20 points, eight in the first 5 minutes of the first half to help NAU weather EWU's second blazing start in two nights. The Eagles quickly grabbed a 13-5 lead on the strength of three early 3-pointers.
But NAU, unlike Weber State on Tuesday, maintained its poise and began breaking down EWU's defense. The Lumberjacks were eager to run and converted several easy buckets in transition or with 3-pointers from the perimeter before EWU's defense was set.
After its early burst, EWU's offense was disjointed, mainly because NAU post players shut down the key. Joakim Kjellbom, a 7-footer from Sweden, swatted three shots in the first 21/2 minutes.
The momentum shifted dramatically in the second half, though EWU still found tough sledding in the paint. The Eagles on several occasions had their shots swatted, but simply gathered up the ball and went back to the basket.
"We just kept working," said freshman center Matt Nelson, who hauled in 10 rebounds, six offensive. "Things didn't always go our way, but we kept at it. That was just our will. We willed that win in the second half."
EWU 71, Northern Arizona 59Northern Arizona (15-14) -- Yazzie 0-4 1-2 1, Bond 8-14 1-1 20, Kjellbom 1-3 2-3 4, Ferguson 3-8 1-2 7, Golob 5-8 2-2 14, Garnett 2-3 2-2 6, Burger 1-2 0-0 2, Feuerbach 1-2 0-0 3, Hayes 0-1 0-0 0, Boykin Jr. 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 21-45 11-14 59.
Eastern Washington (17-12) -- Axton 7-18 2-2 19, Snow 5-13 0-0 10, Nelson 0-4 3-6 3, Merritt 7-11 4-6 22, Pariseau 3-8 1-2 7, Henkel 0-1 0-0 0, McCulloch 0-1 0-0 0, Barnard 1-4 0-0 2, Butorac 0-0 2-2 2, Smith 1-3 4-4 6. Totals 24-63 16-22 71.
Halftime_NAU 33, EWU 29. 3-point goals_NAU 6-18 (Bond 3-7, Golob 2-4, Feuerbach 1-1, Yazzie 0-2, Ferguson 0-4), EWU 7-18 (Merritt 4-4, Axton 3-5, Pariseau 0-2, Barnard 0-2, Snow 0-5). Fouled out_None. Rebounds_NAU 30 (Golob 5), EWU 38 (Nelson 10). Assists_NAU 10 (Ferguson 5), EWU 14 (Pariseau 4). Total fouls_NAU 20, EWU 16. A_4,615.
