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DEKALB, Ill. -- Senior Jordan Threloff (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb/Illinois State) scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds but the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team dropped a 69-65 decision at Western Michigan on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Anthony Johnson (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young/Purdue) added 13 points and sophomore Aaric Armstead (Chicago, Ill./La Jolla Prep) scored 11 but the Huskies were unable to overcome Western Michigan’s advantage at the free-throw line where the Broncos went 21-of-32 to just 13-of-19 for the Huskies.

 “Unbelievable first half shooting the ball, but I didn’t like the way we defended because Western Michigan shot 56 percent just like us,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “In the second half the ball just wouldn’t go in the basket. Credit Western, they got to the free-throw line 22 times (in the second half) and were in the bonus at the 13-minute mark.

“It’s hard to defend when the other team is in the bonus for 13 minutes. We held them to 26 percent in the second half, but I thought the key was they got into the bonus and then they started getting offensive rebounds, they had 10 in the second half, and I thought that was the difference.”

Western Michigan led by four, 12-8, before NIU used a 9-3 burst to take its first lead of the contest, 17-15, with 12:50 to play in the opening half. Junior Travon Baker (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Consortium) ignited the burst with a coast-to-coast layup, senior Pete Rakocevic (Chicago, Ill./Wilbraham & Monson/Sacramento State) added a jump hook before Johnson knocked down a triple and another bucket by Rakocevic pushed the Huskies in front.

Johnson made three consecutive baskets for the Huskies as NIU pushed its lead to four, 23-19, until Western Michigan used a 9-3 spurt to move back in front, 28-26, with 8:30 left before the intermission.

The Huskies scored the next five to regain the lead, 31-28, with six minutes left in the half.

Western Michigan pulled back in front, 37-35, but the Huskies scored the final six points of the opening 20 minutes as they took a 41-37 lead into the intermission. Johnson started the final first half push with a bucket and Threloff scored the final four, including the last two from the charity stripe, to give the Huskies the four-point lead.

Johnson led all scorers with 13 points in the opening 20 minutes; David Brown and Connar Tava each had 11 to pace the Broncos.

NIU led by three, 45-42, when Western Michigan used a 10-2 burst to take a five-point lead, 52-47, just before the midway point of the second half. The Huskies answered with a free throw from Aaric Armstead and a basket by sophomore Michael Orris (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee/Kansas State) as they pulled within a pair, 52-50, with 6:15 remaining.

A layup by senior Aaron Armstead (Chicago, Ill./Hales Franciscan/San Jose City College) trimmed the Bronco lead to just one, 58-57, with 4:13 to play, but the Broncos answered with a pair of free throws to push the lead back to three.

The Western Michigan lead went back-and-forth between one and two possessions as the contest entered the final minutes. After a pair of free throws from Threloff cut the lead to two, 63-61, with less than two minutes left, the Huskies forced a missed shot, but the Broncos grabbed the rebound and scored to go back up four with less than a minute to go.

NIU again cut the lead to two on a layup by Aaron Armstead, but NIU wasn’t able to get a stop in the final minute as the Broncos hung on for the win.

The Huskie defense held Western Michigan to just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) shooting in the second half, but the Broncos went 16-of-22 from the free-throw line to help claim the four-point victory.

Brown finished with 17 points to lead Western Michigan; Tucker Haymond added 16 and Tava chipped in 11 for the Broncos.

The Huskies will return to the State of Michigan on Wednesday, Feb. 18, as they travel to Mt. Pleasant to take on Central Michigan. Game time against the Chippewas is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, and will be shown live on ESPN3.