DEKALB, Ill. -- The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team came into the night ranked third in the nation in field goal percentage and continued its red-hot start to the season offensively as the Huskies shot 60.7 percent (34-of-56) in a 91-76 victory over Western Illinois on Monday night at the NIU Convocation Center. 

Junior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored a team-high 20 points, senior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) added 18 points and senior Lacey Games (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) posted his third career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. 

"We got out in transition, we pounded the ball inside early and often, and we got positive results," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "When you shoot 60 percent from the field, 52 percent from three, that's taking good shots, that's sharing the basketball. Four guys in double figures, 15 assists, we did a lot of things very good tonight. 

"I thought our defense picked up, even though we gave up 76 points, I thought we took a step in the right direction."

A Western Illinois triple trimmed the early NIU lead to a pair, 11-9, before the Huskies answered with the next six, all by senior Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College), as the NIU advantage grew to 17-9 with a little less than 13 minutes to play in the opening half. 

Thorpe was the fourth Huskie in double figures with 14 points. 

The NIU lead was 19-12 when the Leathernecks used an 11-2 run, including a trio of three-pointers, to take a 23-21 lead. Sophomore Zaire Mateen (Queens, N.Y./Laramie County CC) answered with a corner triple off a feed from German as the Huskies regained the lead, 24-23, with 8:30 to play before the intermission. 

NIU (6-4) closed the half with an 18-3 run over the final six minutes to take a 42-30 lead into the break. Bradley opened the run with a basket and German added a pair of free throws as the Huskies went in front, 28-27. 

Back-to-back triples by James, the first two of his collegiate career, gave the Huskies a 36-28 lead with 2:25 left in the half and German, Bradley and James all added layups as the Huskies took a 12-point lead at the half. 

NIU shot 62.1 percent (18-of-29) from the field in the opening 20 minutes as James, Bradley and Thorpe led the way with 10 points each. Western Illinois shot just 37.9 percent (11-of-29) in the opening half. 

Three-pointers from sophomore Rod Henry-Hayes (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) and German helped the Huskie lead grow to 49-32 less than three minutes into the second half as the Leathernecks were forced into an early timeout. 

Henry-Hayes finished with a team-high four assists as NIU dished out 15 total. 

Western Illinois (4-8) trimmed the NIU advantage down to 11 with 15:07 to play, 51-40, but the Huskies responded with the next six on baskets by junior Noah McCarty (Rock Falls, Ill./Sterling Newman) and Thorpe, along with a pair of free throws from James. 

After the Leathernecks pulled back within a dozen, 57-45, NIU scored the next eight, ignited by a triple from Bradley, as the Huskie advantage grew to 20 with 9:15 left. 

NIU shot 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from beyond the arc in the contest. 

The Huskie lead grew to as much as 23 in the final minutes as NIU cruised to the 91-76 victory. 

Kobe Webster scored a game-high 26, 10 of which came in the final three minutes, to lead Western Illinois; Zion Young added 14 points for the Leathernecks. 

NIU will return to action on Thursday, December 20, as the Huskies head to Northern Kentucky for a rematch of a November, double overtime thriller. Game time against the Norse is slated for 6 p.m., and will be available on ESPN+.