KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Freshman Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored a career-high 20 points but the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team fell at Western Michigan, 76-67, on Saturday night at University Arena. The Huskies fell behind by as much as 12 in the first half and, although they would briefly take the lead in the second half, could not sustain that momentum as they fell to 14-11 overall, 6-6 in Mid-American Conference play. 

Senior Marin Maric (Split, Croatia/La Lumiere School) recorded his 21st career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds while sophomore Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. 

"Our nine first half turnovers hurt," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "We didn't score early, we had some turnovers and we settled for some quick threes. In the second half we executed better, guys got to their spots, they cut harder and we woke up and played. It is hard to spot a team 8-10 points and come back."

Western Michigan (9-15, 5-7 MAC) scored the first eight points of the contest as the Broncos took the early lead. German got the Huskie offense started with a layup but the Broncos scored seven of the next nine to take a 15-4 with 12:38 to play in the first half. 

Trailing by a dozen, NIU used a 10-2 run to trim the Bronco lead to just four. German opened the burst with an old-fashioned three-point play, Maric added a basket, sophomore Jaylen Key (Milwaukee, Wis./Homestead) banked a runner off the glass and Bradley knocked down a triple as the Huskies cut the Western Michigan lead to 20-16 with just under eight minutes to play in the opening half. 

The Broncos scored the next four to push their lead back to eight. After a free throw from Bradley, another Western Michigan basket helped the Bronco lead grow to nine. German knocked down a triple to cut the WMU lead back to a half-dozen with just over four minutes to play, but the Broncos closed the half with a 6-2 burst to take a 32-22 lead into the intermission. 

German led all scorers with 12 points in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting; Seth Dugan led Western Michigan with nine. 

A layup by Bradley and a triple from senior Aaric Armstead (Chicago, Ill./La Jolla Prep) quickly cut the Western Michigan lead in half inside the first minute of the second half. Following a free throw by the Broncos, NIU scored the next five on a basket by Maric, a layup from German and a free throw by Bradley to bring the Huskies within one, 33-32. 

The Western Michigan lead grew back to four until buckets from Bradley and Maric pulled the Huskies even and a corner triple from sophomore Austin Pauga (Naperville, Ill./IMG Academy) pushed NIU in front, 39-36, with 14:30 left. 

The Broncos answered with the next nine to move back in front, 45-39. 

A pair of free throws by Maric and a basket from Armstead brought the Huskies back within a pair, 49-47, just past the midway point of the second half. The Western Michigan lead was still two until a four-point burst pushed the Western Michigan lead back to a half-dozen, 58-52.  

NIU trailed by eight before an old-fashioned three-point play from Maric and a free throw each from sophomore Laytwan Porter (Rockford, Ill./Auburn) and German cut the Western Michigan lead to 63-60 with just under four minutes remaining, but the Broncos scored the next five to push the lead back to eight. 

Western Michigan went 10-of-12 from the free-throw line in the final three minutes to hold off any attempts of a Huskie comeback. 

Five players scored in double figures for the Broncos, led by 17 points from Thomas Wilder. Tuckey Haymond scored 16 points, Dugan and Reggie Jones each had 13 and Brandon Johnson chipped in 10 points. 

NIU will return home on Tuesday, Feb. 14, when the Huskies host Ball State. Game time against the Cardinals is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT, and will be televised on the American Sports Network, available locally on CSN Chicago Plus.