CHICAGO, Ill. -- Three players scored in double figures, led by 22 points from senior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter), as the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team picked up a 75-60 win over Chicago State at the Jones Convocation Center on Thursday night (Dec. 19). Freshman Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) added a career-high 14 points and senior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) chipped in 12 points. 

"We were lethargic, it seemed like we couldn't get going (in the first half)," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "That 9-0 run (to close the half) finally got us going. In the first five minutes of the second half we extended it, got it over 20, but we just couldn't get the knockout punch. Any road win is a good win, we wanted to get back on the winning track but we are going to have to play a lot better Saturday afternoon."

A wing triple by sophomore Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) gave NIU a one-point lead, 10-9, early in the contest. Chicago State answered with the next four as the Cougars grabbed a three-point advantage. 

Trailing by a pair, NIU used a 10-2 burst to take a six-point lead with a little over five minutes to play in the opening half. German opened the run with a pair of free throws and scored eight of the 10, with a basket by Hankerson sprinkled in as the Huskies took a 28-22 lead. 

Hankerson finished with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. 

After Chicago State closed the gap to four with 2:46 left in the half, NIU scored the last nine before the intermission to take a 13-point lead into the break. Sophomore Justin Lee (Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill) opened the run with a pair of free throws, Cochran knocked down a triple, junior Gairges Daow (Melbourne, Australia/Victory Rock Academy) hit a jumper and Cochran finished the half with a bucket as the Huskies led 42-29 at the half. 

NIU (7-5) shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from the field in the opening half, including 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from three-point range. The Huskies were 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) from the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes. 

The Huskie advantage climbed to 20 early in the second half as a six-point burst, four on run outs from Hankerson along with a basket by James, gave NIU a 51-31 lead with 13:20 remaining. 

An 8-2 spurt, capped by a pair of free throws from James, gave the Huskies a 61-38 lead with 8:41 to play. German made a pair of layups during the run, which was ignited by a bucket from James, as the NIU lead grew to its largest of the night at 23.  

Xavier Johnson scored 15 points to lead the way for Chicago State, Jace Colley added 13 points for the Cougars. 

NIU will have a quick turnaround as the Huskies host Green Bay on Saturday afternoon, December 21, at 1 p.m. NIU Athletics will be hosting a canned food drive at Saturday's game with $5 tickets available for anyone who brings canned food items to the NIU Convocation Center Box Office.