January 18, 2003

 

Box Score

 

MEN'S BASKETBALL FINAL SCORE: NORTHERN ILLINOIS 88, EASTERN MICHIGAN 79
DeKALB, IL - Taking the momentum that it gained from its recent three-game road trip, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team got things going for the first time in over a month on its home court. The Huskies won their first game at the Convocation Center since December 4 with an 88-79 decision over Eastern Michigan University on Saturday (January 17).

 

Northern Illinois wins its fourth game in a row to even its record at 8-8 on the year while improving to 4-2 in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles dropped their fifth-straight game to the Huskies as they fall to 7-6 for the year and 1-3 in the league.

 

Going over 15 rebounds for the second consecutive game was forward Marcus Smallwood (Elgin) as he grabbed 18 rebounds and scored a season-high 24 points for his fourth double-double in a row. He had his double dip in the first half, scoring 13 points and snaring 11 rebounds. Through the first stanza, Smallwood had a pair of doubles in 40 minutes of play, dating back to Wednesday's game at Ohio when he had 12 points and ten boards in the final 20 minutes.

 

"Marcus throws his heart over the rim and then goes up and gets it," NIU floor boss Rob Judson remarked. "Inside-out is hard to guard. That was one of our keys today. Our team is really accepting its roles."

 

While Smallwood covered the inside part of the Huskies' attack, freshman Todd Peterson (Pekin) was responsible for most of Northern Illinois' outside game. The 6-foot-6 guard nailed five three pointers (5-of-9), one short of his career-high, as he scored a personal-best 19 points.

 

For just the second time this year, the Huskies had four players reach double figures as P.J. Smith (Maywood / Proviso East) added 16 points and Jay Bates (Chicago / Robeson) tossed in 14 markers. Eastern Michigan one-upped Northern Illinois with five players reaching double digits, led by Markus Austin's 21 points.

 

But none of the Eagles' double-figure scorers came off the bench. Led by Peterson's 19 points, Northern Illinois' reserves held a 28-10 advantage in bench scoring. The Huskies also had a significant margin for points in the paint (40-24) as NIU's defense did a nice job of stopping EMU's one-two inside punch of Ryan Prillman and Steve Pettyjohn. The duo had been averaging 35.9 points per game, but were limited to just 23-12 from Prillman and 11 for Pettyjohn.

 

The Eagles came out firing to start the contest, making their first six shots to open up a 14-6 lead just three and half minutes into the contest. The margin grew to ten points (20-10) on a three-pointer by Michael Ross with 13:48 remaining.

 

Over the next six minutes, the Huskies held the league's third-ranked offense-EMU was averaging 80.2 ppg. coming into the contest-to just four points. NIU went on a 15-4 run to gain its first lead on a three-point play by Smith that gave the Huskies a 25-24 advantage at the 8:03 mark. Northern Illinois' lead grew to as many as six (36-30) before going into the locker room up 41-38.

 

Eastern Michigan regained the lead in the second half by going on an 11-5 run, but could not pull away despite the Huskies only scoring ten points in the first seven and half minutes of the second period. EMU held onto the lead until the eight-minute mark when Smallwood's jumper was followed by a Bates steal and lay-up to give NIU a 69-67 advantage. After a Peterson three-pointer, the Huskies hit ten free throws during the final four minutes to seal the victory.

 

"I thought Northern Illinois was relentless, just determined to win the game," EMU coach Jim Boone said. "Every time we had a chance to make a couple of plays, they made a big play."

 

The Huskies are back on the road next Saturday (January 25) when they travel to Bowling Green State University for a 1 p.m. (EST) tip. Northern Illinois returns home to face Akron on Wednesday (January 29).

 

--Copy by Michael Smoose

 

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