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Kowal had a team-high 14 points

Men's Basketball

Dominant First Half Lifts Broncos past Huskies, 71-52

Jan. 17, 2009

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KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Northern Illinois men's basketball team (5-10, 1-2 MAC) put three starters in double figures, but host Western Michigan (6-10, 3-0) used a 17-point halftime lead to hold off a second-half Huskie rally, and the Broncos cruised to a 71-52 win at University Arena Saturday afternoon to remain unbeaten in Mid-American Conference play.

The Broncos shot a blistering 14-of-28 (.500) from three-point range in the game, and had four players post double-digits in scoring, led by Derek Drews' 17 points. NIU held MAC fourth-leading scorer David Kool to just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting, but also saw Michael Redell (15 points) and Andre Ricks (11) combine for an 8-for-13 effort from the field.

Sophomore center Sean Kowal scored a team-high 14 points, 12 in the second-half, to lead NIU's offensive output. Sophomore guard Darion "Jake" Anderson and senior forward Sean Smith each added 11 points, while freshman Mike DiNunno chipped in nine points to go along with a team-high four assists.

The Broncos jumped out to an early 7-1 lead, and held the Huskies without a field goal for the first 5:57. But NIU charged back, and pulled within three points twice in the ensuing two and a half minutes. WMU answered with a 12-4 run, and took its first double-digit lead (24-13) of the game with 6:52 remaining in the first half.

The Huskies scored just two points in a 7:13 stretch, falling behind by as many as 19 points (34-15) in the process. Smith and Anderson each tallied field goals in the final 1:47 to trim the Broncos' advantage to 17, 37-20, heading into the locker room at halftime.

NIU opened the second half on an 11-3 spree, and pulled within nine (40-31) with 16:19 remaining. After Smith missed a transition jumper, Ante Dzepina pulled down the ensuing offensive rebound, and tipped the ball in; but he was called for an offensive foul on the carom.

Ricks countered with a three-pointer on the other end, pushing the Broncos' lead back to a dozen points, 43-31, with 14:24 remaining. Back-to-back lay-ups by Kowal cut the lead to just eight (43-35) with 12:48 left, but Ricks answered the call again, connecting on a three to extend the lead to 46-35.

NIU could draw no closer than nine points for the remainder of the game. The Broncos converted 10 free throws in the final 3:13 to help push the lead back to a game-high 20 points with 1:37 remaining.

Northern Illinois returns home this week for a pair of MAC-West battles against Eastern Michigan (Jan. 20) and Central Michigan (Jan. 24). Tuesday's tip-off against the Eagles is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

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