DEKALB, Ill. -- Three players scored in double figures, led by 18 points from senior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI), as the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team defeated Illinois Tech, 73-66, on Saturday afternoon at the NIU Convocation Center. 

Junior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored 17 points, along with five assists, and senior Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) chipped in 13 points.

"We just couldn't put Illinois Tech away, they wouldn't disappear, they played extremely hard and they made shots," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "We did some good things, but it seemed like, at times, we just couldn't find a rhythm. We made free throws, we took care of the basketball and did enough to finish them off, but (Illinois Tech) played extremely hard and it was a good game."

An early 7-0 burst helped NIU jump out to a nine-point lead, 19-10, midway through the opening half. Junior Noah McCarty (Rock Falls, Ill./Sterling Newman) opened the run with a basket, German added a triple and Bradley converted a layup to help the Huskies build an early lead. 

After the Scarlet Hawks trimmed the lead to seven, NIU scored the next five to push the Huskie advantage to a dozen. McCarty scored three of the five as the Huskies led, 24-12, with just over seven minutes to play before the break. 

McCarty finished with nine points and five rebounds off the bench for the Huskies. 

Illinois Tech then used a 9-2 run of its own to trim the NIU lead to five, but the Huskies closed the first half on an 11-2 burst to take a 37-23 lead into the break. Bradley scored six points during the closing stretch and finished the game just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds to go along with his 18 points. 

NIU shot 50 percent (14-of-28) from the field in the first 20 minutes. 

The Huskie lead was 13 with 11 minutes to play when Illinois Tech used a 10-2 run to pull within five. Max Hisitake scored the final basket of the run as the Scarlet Hawks trimmed the NIU lead to 49-44 with 9:02 left. 

After the two teams traded baskets, NIU went on a quick 10-0 spurt to push the lead back to 15 with just under six minutes to play. German and McCarty each scored four during the burst that pushed the NIU advantage to 61-46. 

NIU led by 13 with a little under three minutes to play before Illinois Tech outscored the Huskies 14-8 in the closing moments to cut the final margin to seven points. 

Anthony Mosley led all scorers with 20 points for Illinois Tech, Hisitake added 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. 

The Huskies will return to action on Friday, November 23, when they play Oral Roberts in their first game at the Men Against Breast Cancer Oakland Hoops Challenge in Rochester, Mich. Game time against the Golden Eagles is slated for 11 a.m. CT.