KENT, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball trailed by as much as 13 in the second half, but rallied to claim a 74-70 road win at Kent State on Tuesday night at the M.A.C. Center. Senior Marin Maric (Split, Croatia/La Lumiere School) scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading four Huskies in double figures in the contest. 

Sophomore Laytwan Porter (Rockford, Ill./Auburn) and freshman Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) each came off the bench to add 12 points while sophomore Jaylen Key (Milwaukee, Wis./Homestead) added 11 points. 

NIU (10-6, 2-1 MAC) shot 47.1 percent (16-of-34) in the second half to overcome the 13-point deficit and outrebounded Kent State, 44-35. The Golden Flashes came into the contest ranked ninth in the nation in rebounding margin. 

The Huskies also outscored the Golden Flashes 27-5 off turnovers and made 21 free throws while allowing Kent State just 13 free throw attempts. 

"Whenever NIU plays Kent State it is decided by five-or-less points," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "Once again, that's what it was decided by. I thought both teams played extremely hard, I think we got a few more bounces. I challenged by guys to rebound the ball, so to come in here and get them by nine, I thought that was the ballgame."

Coming into tonight's contest, four of the last five games between the Huskies and Golden Flashes had been decided by two points or less. 

Kent State (9-7, 1-2 MAC) led 36-24 at the half and the lead grew to as much as 13, 44-31, until a 12-2 run for the Huskies cut the Golden Flashes advantage to just 46-43 with 12:24 to play. 

Senior Aaric Armstead (Chicago, Ill./La Jolla Prep) started the burst with a free throw. Key added a corner trifecta before Armstead added a basket.

Armstead finished the night with 12 rebounds. 

Following a Kent State score, German made a layup, Porter added a free throw and German knocked in a triple as the Huskies cut the Kent State lead to three.  

Kent State had pushed its lead back to eight before a reverse layup from Porter and an old-fashioned three-point play by German brought the Huskies within three again, 53-50. 

Once again the Golden Flashes had an answer as the lead went back to eight with just under seven minutes left, but NIU closed regulation with a 14-6 run to force overtime. 

With Kent State leading 62-56, three-straight buckets, two from Porter and one from senior Dontel Highsmith (Dowagiac, Mich./Dowagiac), pulled NIU even at 62 with less than two minutes to play in regulation. The Golden Flashes went back in front with a pair of free throws but Porter delivered again with a layup to tie the game with 1:16 to go. 

The Huskies got a defensive stop, but then missed a pair of free throws, giving the ball back to Kent State with 21 seconds left and a chance to win. Out of a timeout, NIU switched to a 1-3-1 zone that bothered the Golden Flashes enough to force a tough shot that was missed and the game went to overtime. 

NIU took its first lead of the night on a pair of free throws from sophomore Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) to start the overtime. Tied at 68, Maric made a free throw to put the Huskies up by one with 1:26 left in the extra session. Following a turnover by the Golden Flashes, Porter went off glass to give the Huskies a three-point lead with less than a minute to play. 

A tip-in with under 30 seconds left brought Kent State back within one but Bradley went to the free-throw line and made a pair to seal the comeback win for the Huskies. With the win, NIU improved to 8-4 all-time in overtime games under Montgomery. 

Jaylin Walker scored 22 points to lead the way for Kent State; Deon Edwin added 18 points. 

A triple from Highsmith in the early going evened the contest, 5-5, but Kent State quickly scored the next 10 to take a 15-5 lead with 14:57 to play in the opening half. 

Key ended the Kent State run with a short jumper and German added a layup as the Huskies trimmed the Golden Flashes lead back to a half-dozen with 13:18 left before the break. 

A pair of free throws from Maric, a free throw from Bradley and a layup from Maric helped NIU cut the Kent State lead to just three, 22-19, but he Golden Flashes answered back with the next eight to lead 30-19 with just under five minutes left in the first half. 

Walker connected on his fifth triple of the opening half with less than a minute left before the intermission as the Golden Flashes took a 36-24 lead into halftime. 

NIU will continue its two-game Ohio road swing on Saturday, Jan. 14, when the Huskies visit Bowling Green. Game time against the Falcons is scheduled for 11 a.m., CT and will be available on ESPN3.