Feb. 22, 2006

Box Score

Mount Pleasant, MI - Thursday's men's basketball tilt between Northern Illinois University and Central Michigan University was not the prettiest of ball games, as both teams combined to shoot 34.0% (33-for-97) from the field, 26.1% (6-for-23) from three-point range and 32 turnovers.

The Huskies, however, dug deep within themselves and held CMU to just two points over the final five minutes to hold on for the 49-43 Mid-American Conference victory over the Chippewas at Rose Arena. The win marked the first time that NIU had won a game with less than 50 points since a 48-30 win over Akron exactly 15 years ago on January 26, 1991.

Both teams returned to the court two days after tough games on Tuesday night. NIU dropped a one-point decision to Toledo in DeKalb, IL, while CMU was upended by Ball State in Muncie, IN.

"You have a team from DeKalb, IL, that drives to Mount Pleasant, MI, and a Central Michigan team that drove into Mount Pleasant from Muncie, IN, on a Wednesday morning after a tough game on a Tuesday night, you're going to have a hard fought, physical basketball game," NIU head coach Rob Judson said. "Both teams played with a lot of heart tonight.

"It was a very difficult time for us to enter the basketball and score, particularly inside," Judson continued. "You look at both teams field-goal percentages and three-point field goal percentages, that's what happens when you travel a long way to play on the next night.

NIU junior center James Hughes led the Huskies with 12 points, while junior guard Mike McKinney narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. NIU shot 35.4% (17-for-48) from the field for the game.

With the victory, NIU improves to 10-7 on the campaign and 5-4 in MAC action, while the host Chippewas fall to 3-14 overall and 1-8 in conference play.

Central Michigan junior guard Eddie Spencer topped the Chippewas with 12 points, followed by sophomores Giordan Watson (11 points) and Justin Blevins (10 points, 9 rebounds). CMU shot 32.7% (16-for-49) from the field for the game.

The Huskies, who had led by as many as 11 in the first half, held a 29-22 advantage over CMU with 17:57 left in the contest, following a Hughes jumper. The Chippewas, quickly answered with a 7-0 run to knot up the game at 29 following a Drew Walker jumper at the 13:36 mark.

The game would be tied four more times, before CMU took a 41-39 lead over the Huskies after a lay-up from Sefton Barrett with 5:05 remaining in the contest. That marked Barrett's only basket of the night, after entering the contest as the Chippewas' leading scorer at 13.4 points per game.

That would be the last lead that CMU would see, as the Huskies went on a 8-0 run, keyed by four points and including a clutch three-pointer from senior forward Todd Peterson, to secure the win for NIU. Peterson went 2-for-3 from three-point range giving him 206 career treys, breaking the NIU career-record that he had previously shared with current assistant coach Donald Whiteside.

NIU is back in action on Sunday afternoon, as the Huskies travel to Ypsilanti, MI, to square off with Eastern Michigan University for a 1 p.m. (CST) tip-off.

(For further information, please contact Matt Brendich) -NIU-