ATHENS, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team trailed by 12 less than seven minutes into Saturday's contest at Ohio and was unable to recover, falling to the Bobcats, 78-68, at the Ohio Convocation Center. 

The Huskies clawed within a half-dozen in a second half in which they shot 56.3 percent (18-of-32) and committed just two turnovers, but it wasn't enough to overcome an opening 20 minutes that saw NIU shoot just 28.6 percent (8-of-28) with nine turnovers. 

Four Huskies scored in double figures, led by 15 points from junior Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) and sophomore Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter). Junior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) had 14 points and a game-high tying six rebounds while sophomore Justin Thomas (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) added 12 points off the bench.

"Credit Ohio, they came out and punched us in the face in the first five minutes and they kept it going throughout the first half," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "That gave them a lot of confidence. (Mike) Laster was awfully tough, we have to do a better job defending. I thought we were better in the second half but when you get down double-digits on the road it is tough to comeback in this league."

Ohio (8-6, 1-1 MAC) raced out to a 14-2 lead to open the contest as the Huskies were held scoreless for more than four minutes to open the game. A basket by German and an old-fashioned three-point play from Bradley trimmed the Bobcat lead to 19-10 with 11:24 to play in the first half.

After the Bobcats pushed their lead to 27-10, NIU responded with the next eight to cut the lead back to nine with five minutes to play before halftime. German scored the first four on a pair of free throws and a layup, junior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) scored on a tip-in and Thorpe added a pair from the charity stripe. 

Ohio closed the half with a 9-4 burst as the Bobcats took a 36-22 lead into halftime. Mike Laster led all scorers with 16 points in the opening 20 minutes, German led NIU with nine. Ohio shot 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field in the first half. 

NIU (8-7, 1-1 MAC) used a 10-0 run early in the second half to trim the Ohio lead back to just six, 38-32, with 15:07 to play. Bradley and Thorpe each scored four during the run while German added a pair. 

The Huskies were still within three until a 7-0 burst by the Bobcats pushed their lead to 51-38 with just over 12 minutes remaining. 

Trailing by a dozen, 68-56, German made a bucket and then found Thomas for a triple to pull the Huskies back within seven, 68-61, with just over four minutes left, but that was as close as the Huskies would get as Ohio answered with an old-fashioned three-point play on the next possession on its way to a 10-point victory. 

Laster led all scorers with 31 points on 10-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three. Teyvion Kirk added 16 points as Ohio shot 56.5 percent (26-of-46) in the contest. 

NIU will continue its road trip on Tuesday night, Jan. 9, as the Huskies travel to Bowling Green. Game time against the Falcons is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN3.