Nov. 29, 2008

Final Stats

ANCHORAGE, Ala. -

Final Stats in PDF Format

The Northern Illinois men's basketball team (3-4) erased a seven-point halftime deficit, and owned an eight-point advantage of its own with just over six minutes remaining in the game, but Western Carolina (3-2) mounted a convincing comeback, and recorded a 71-67 win over the Huskies in the 4th/6th place game of the Great Alaska Shootout Saturday evening at Sullivan Arena.

For the third-straight game, Darion "Jake" Anderson led the Huskies in scoring, pouring in 15 points to go along with his four rebounds and five assists. Sophomore center Sean Kowal contributed a career-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and corralled a team-best seven rebounds; and senior Sean Smith secured his second-consecutive double-digit scoring output with 13 points on a 5-of-8 shooting effort. WCU was led by Harouna Mutombo, who led a threesome in double-figures with 22 points on 10 field goals.

For the first time this season, the Huskies lost despite shooting 40 percent or better from the field (22-of-55). NIU was out-shot (44.1 percent to 40.0 percent), out-rebounded (40-35) and had 19 turnovers to Western Carolina's 17.

"We made too many crucial mistakes down the stretch tonight," said head coach Ricardo Patton. "Young teams have to learn how to finish games, and the last four minutes are always critical. That's where we made the majority of our mistakes. We missed too many free throws, and our 19 turnovers were too much to overcome.

"They had an advantage on the glass, and their 15 offensive rebounds, in particular, really hurt us. But our kids did a nice job fighting back after being seven points down at halftime. They really battled, and gave us a chance to win."

NIU fell behind 5-0 in the early going, before going on a 7-2 spurt to tie the game at 7-7. The Huskies claimed their first lead (11-9) with 15:23 remaining in the first-half after freshman point guard Bryan Hall tallied a steal and scored on the other end. Western Carolina was forced into its first timeout after the Huskies built a 17-13 lead, capped off by consecutive transition field goals by Kowal and Smith.

The Catamounts responded with a 15-3 run, and forced Patton into his first timeout with 4:09 remaining in the first-half, after NIU fell behind by 11, 29-18. The Huskies' Michael Patton put a halt to the run with an ensuing three-pointer, and Lee Fisher followed with back-to-back free throws, to pull NIU back within six, 29-23. Smith hit a jumper to cut WCU's lead to 29-25 with 2:28 left in the opening frame.

But the Catamounts went on a quick 5-2 spurt to take a 34-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Patton made a change to his starting lineup at the outset of the second-half, inserting Smith in for freshman guard Mike DiNunno. Smith made his presence felt early, connecting on a three at the 19:33 mark to quickly pull NIU back within two possessions, 34-30. Najul Ervin followed with four-straight points, including a steal and ensuing dunk, to tie the game, 34-34, with 18:16 remaining.

The Huskies grabbed their first lead of the second half with 14:55 left, after Anderson drove to the basket, and gave NIU a 38-36 lead. Kowal and Patton combined to score the game's next five points, and NIU's lead grew to 43-36 with 13:34 remaining.

The Catamounts answered with a 12-3 spree, and took a 48-47 lead after a layup by Mutombo. Kowal capped off an ensuing 10-1 Huskie run with his sixth field goal, and NIU stretched its lead to a game-high eight points, 57-49, with 6:13 left.

Western Carolina went on another 12-3 run, and took a 61-60 advantage with 2:58 remaining. The Huskies had three turnovers in the stretch that led to two easy buckets. The WCU lead grew to 66-60, but NIU clawed back, cutting the lead to just two points, 68-66, with 11 seconds left after a long three-pointer by Tyler Storm. The Catamounts' Jake Robinson converted three free throws in the final eight seconds game to secure the comeback and four-point win.

The Catamounts were just one point short of playing for the Great Alaska Shootout championship, after dropping a 59-58 decision against finalist San Diego State in the opening round.

NIU will complete its four-game road swing by playing at Air Force on Wednesday (Dec. 3). Tip-off from Clune Arena is set for 8 p.m. CST.