Arizona stumbled to another slow start but shot well enough in the second half to beat NAU 53-39 today at McKale Center.
The Wildcats were led by Solomon Hill, who had 15 points and seven rebounds, while Kyle Fogg had 11 after hitting three three-pointers early in the second half that turned the game around.
Colin Gruber led NAU in scoring with 13 points, while the Lumberjacks shot just 37.2 percent.
The Wildcats, who made 10 of 21 field goals in the second half, improved to 6-2 heading into a game at Florida on Wednesday, while NAU dropped to 2-5.
Fogg's three three-pointers came over in the first 2:34 of the second half, putting UA up 35-21 with 17:26 left, and Nick Johnson hit a three with 16:39 left to make it 38-24.
Arizona finished the game on an 8-2 run.
In the first half, Arizona stumbled to a slow start for the fifth straight game but managed to pull out a 25-19 halftime lead.
The Wildcats fell behind 12-5 and 14-7 early and, unlike their win at New Mexico State on Tuesday, when the Wildcats wiped out a 12-2 deficit before the first television today, this one went on a while.
Finally, with 5:53 left, Solomon Hill rebounded a missed free throw by Nick Johnson, then rebounded his own missed shot and made a putback to tie the game at 16.
Hill went on to score inside again for an 18-16 lead, and Nick Johnson later electrified the McKale Center crowd with a dunk that gave Arizona a 25-19 lead with 32 seconds left.
UA also did not allow the Lumberjacks to get off a decent shot on their final possession.
Hill led UA with seven points and five rebounds while Johnson had six points. NNAU was led by Stallon Saldivar, who had seven points.
Earlier in the half, UA briefly tried pressing NAU, which led 14-10 with 7:54 left.
The Lumberjacks held UA without a field goal over the first four minutes of the game and went up 10-5 after Michael Dunn hit a three with 11:39 left.
UA coach Sean Miller started the game lineup at he did Tuesday at New Mexico State: Jordin Mayes, Johnson, Kyle Fogg, Hill, Jesse Perry.
Before the game, UA announced that both head coach Sean Miller and associate head coach James Whitford have advanced in the Shots from the Heart charity free-throw competition.
Miller made 24 of 25 free throws for a total of 55 points to beat NAU's Mike Adras, who made 23 of 25 and scored 53 points.
In the assistant coaches' bracket, Whitford made 21 of 25 free throws for 49 points to beat Bruce Hamburger of St. Peter's, who made 17 of 25 and scored 36 points.
First round matches are not yet complete, so the second-round pairings are still to be announced. Miller is scheduled to face the winner of the Brad Stevens (Butler) vs. Blaine Taylor (Old Dominion) match, while Whitford will face the winner of the Roger Powell (Valparaiso) vs. Mike Blaine (Cornell) match. The second round match-ups are slated to begin later this month.
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