FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - UC Davis held No. 25 Northern Arizona scoreless and to just 74 yards in the second half, and nearly made a comeback from a 16-point halftime deficit before falling to the Lumberjacks, 23-21, in a Big Sky Conference football game at Walkup Skydome on Saturday afternoon.

The Aggies fell for the seventh consecutive time, moving their overall record to 1-8 and their Big Sky mark to 0-6. Ify Umodu caught five passes for 76 yards and a touchdown while Jordan Perry threw for 208 yards and two scores to help NAU improve to 7-3 and 5-1 respectively.

Safety Charles Boyett and linebacker Artice Nelson each had nine tackles for UC Davis while safety Keleen Culberson had eight stops, two TFLs and broke up a pair of passes. Gabe Manzanares rushed for 83 yards on 16 carries while Ramon Vargas had four receptions for 97 yards and two scores. He fell just shy of reaching 100 receiving yards for the fourth straight game which would have tied a school record.

In the last four games, Vargas has recorded six touchdown receptions.

UC Davis trailed 23-7 at halftime, but picked up touchdown passes to Vargas of 27 yards midway through the third quarter and a 47-yarder on a double-move with just under nine minutes left in the fourth. The Aggies were able to generate one final push with 1:21 remaining on their own 33 but Ben Scott - who threw for 204 yards - was intercepted near midfield on the second play of the drive, ending the threat.

UC Davis' defense was a highlight throughout the game, bending but not breaking several times in a first half that resulted in three field goals instead of touchdowns. In the second half, NAU never visited the end zone and was only able to muster 74 total yards.

Unlike Northern Arizona, the Aggies owned the second half on both sides of the ball. The Aggies generated a seven-play, 80-yard drive on its second possession of the third quarter, picking up a pair of first downs and 22 rushing yards from Manzanares that set up Scott's 27-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Vargas.

NAU dominated the first quarter against the Aggies in both yardage and time of possession but only managed a pair of field goals by Ryan Hawkins. The Lumberjacks outgained UC Davis 97 to minus-4 in total yards while holding the ball for 12:02. Their first drive took 7:58 off the clock and came after NAU covered 56 yards on 18 plays on the game's first possession. The Lumberjacks converted a quartet of third downs on the drive - the first three on passes by Perry.

UC Davis quickly gave the ball back to NAU after Scott was sack on the Aggies' third play, resulting in a fumble and eventual 16-yard loss that was recovered by Manzanares at the 10-yard line.

A nine-play drive on the Lumberjacks' next possession covered just 24 yards but was enough for Hawkins to convert a 41-yard field goal with just 13 seconds left in the first quarter. NAU regained possession after another short UC Davis drive that went just 14 yards; that drive was punctuated by a 52-yard middle screen pass to Ify Umodu for a touchdown with 8:23 left in the second quarter.

UC Davis' offense clicked throughout its five-play, 87-yard scoring drive that ended with a nifty pass along the right sideline by Manzanares, who took the handoff before pulling up and finding wide open Mark Martindale.

Manzanares accounted for 71 of the drive's 87 yards by rushing the ball twice for 12 yards, catching a 36-yard screen pass from Scott and then hitting Martindale with his first career touchdown pass. It was the first touchdown pass by a non-quarterback since former Aggie Nick Aprile hit tight end Dean Rogers for a two-yard score out of the wildcat formation against San Diego in 2010.

UC Davis, however, couldn't hold the Lumberjacks in check on their next drive though as Casey Jahn covered 20 yards by rushing the ball on his team's first two plays. Elijah Marks recorded a 22-yard run following a pass interference penalty, and Perry's 16-yard pass to Alex Holmes moved the ball to the 1.

Perry then threw to a well-covered Beau Gardner, who juggled the ball but managed to hold on in the back of the endzone for the score. Hawkins added his third field goal - this time from 33 yards - to make it 23-7 at halftime.

UC Davis will return to the road with the Battle for the Golden Horseshoe at Cal Poly next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m.