Final Stats

ANCHORAGE, Ala.

Final Stats

- Senior forward Sean Smith scored 15 of his career-high tying 19 points in the second-half, and the Northern Illinois men's basketball team (3-3) out-scored host Alaska Anchorage 46-37 in the second frame, as the Huskies recorded a 71-68 win over the Seawolves (0-5) at Sullivan Arena Friday afternoon. With the win, NIU advanced to Saturday's 4th/6th place game, where it will play Western Carolina at 5 p.m.

For the second-straight game, and the third overall this season, Darion "Jake" Anderson led the Huskies in scoring, pouring in 25 points with an 8-for-10 effort from the free throw line. Sophomore center Sean Kowal joined Smith and Anderson in double-figures, scoring 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Alaska Anchorage was led by Lonnie Ridgeway's 20 points. Smith's effort came on five second-half three-point field goals.

The Huskies held statistical advantages in rebounds (39-31), assists (16-14), blocks (3-2) and steals (9-7), and out-shot the Seawolves, 41.7 percent to 40.0 percent. Junior forward Najul Ervin pulled down a game-and season-high nine rebounds to spearhead NIU's second-highest rebounding advantage of the season.

"We were very fortunate to come up with a win today," said head coach Ricardo Patton. "Other than Jake (Darion Anderson) making some shots early, our other primary scorers really struggled today. So, it was good to see Sean Smith, our lone senior, come off the bench and give us a boost. He has worked extremely hard, and done a nice job in practice as of late. I thought that really helped his performance today.

"Defensively, I thought our guys did a nice job, and was what kept us in the ball game until our offense came around mid-way through that second-half. We hung in there, and continued to compete.

Anderson and UAA's Kenny Barker put on a shooting spree early in the second-half, with Anderson contributing nine quick points on three treys, and Barker scoring 10-of the Seawolves' first 12 points. The Seawolves' Kyle Doerr broke a 19-19 tie with a layup at the 10:01 mark of the first-half, and Alaska Anchorage's lead was stretched to 24-19 (9:35) after a three-pointer by Brando Walker.

NIU responded with a 6-0 run, and re-claimed the lead (25-24) with 6:32 remaining in the opening frame, after Ervin capitalized on a steal by Anderson with a transition layup. But the Seawolves ended the half on a 6-0 spurt, capped off by a buzzer-beating jumper by Jeremiah Trueman as time expired. Alaska Anchorage took a 31-25 lead, its largest of the first-half, into the locker room at halftime.

The Huskies opened the second-half with a full-court pressure defense, and tallied three steals in the first 3:05 of the frame. Freshman guard Mike DiNunno drilled his only three-pointer of the game at the 17:46 mark, pulling NIU back within two, 31-29. But UAA scored five-straight points, and had a 36-31 lead at the half's initial media timeout (15:49).

Barker's two free throws with 15:49 left stretched the Seawolves' lead to a game-high seven points (38-31). But the Huskies began their charge, and eventually tied the game, 42-42, with 10:57 remaining. Jeremy Landers, Smith and Kowal all had field goals in the spurt.

NIU grabbed its first lead of the second-half with 8:02 remaining, after Smith's second three. UAA's Kevin White answered with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession (7:42), vaulting the Seawolves back into a one-point (51-50) advantage.

Smith continued his barrage the next down the floor, adding another three-pointer to push NIU's lead to two points, 53-51.After UAA's Darren Nye missed a three-point try, Ervin converted a layup on the other end, and gave the Huskies a 55-51 lead heading into the half's third media timeout (6:48). Smith's fourth three-pointer, with 4:48 left, gave the Huskies their first double-digit advantage.

After Anderson split 1-of-2 attempts from the charity stripe, NIU claimed its largest lead of the game, 67-54, with 2:06 remaining. UAA finished the game on a 14-4 run to provide the final three-point margin of defeat.

NIU will wrap up play in the Great Alaska Shootout against Western Carolina in the 4th/6th place game Saturday, beginning at 5 p.m. CST, noon AKT. The Catamounts recorded a 76-62 win over Louisiana Tech in the other consolation semifinal.