DAVIS, Calif. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team rallied from down as much as 14 in the first half against UC Davis but could never come all the way back to take the lead as the Huskies fell to the Aggies, 66-57, on Saturday evening (Dec. 7) at The Pavilion.

UC Davis (4-7) shot 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the field in the contest while the Huskies shot just 34.5 percent (19-of-55).

"We got to halftime and we were only down two points, even though UC Davis really outplayed us in the first half," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "We showed some ability to bounce back, but we never reestablished ourselves on the inside. We were playing good defense but we had some costly turnovers and just couldn't get over the hump."

UC Davis raced out to an 11-3 lead in the opening three-plus minutes of the contest. A pair of free throws from senior Noah McCarty (Rock Falls, Ill./Sterling Newman) brought the Huskies back within a half-dozen before a 7-2 burst from the Aggies pushed the UC Davis lead to 18-7.

After a triple from junior Nathan Scott (Naperville, Ill./Olney Central College) cut the Aggie advantage back to eight, an 8-2 run gave UC Davis a 26-12 advantage just past the midway point of the opening half.

NIU (6-4) responded with the next eight as the Huskies trimmed the UC Davis lead to 26-20. Senior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) scored six of the eight, including four from the charity stripe, while junior Zaire Mateen (Queens, N.Y./Laramie County CC) added the other bucket.

James finished just one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and a game-high nine boards while Mateen scored seven points in the contest.

The Aggies led 31-22 when a 9-0 Huskie run brought NIU even with 2:23 left in the opening 20 minutes. James scored the first basket of the burst, senior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) added a trifecta and junior Gairges Daow (Melbourne, Australia/Victory Rock Academy) scored the next four as the Huskies leveled the game at 31.

German scored a team-high 16 points for the Huskies.

UC Davis scored the next five before a long triple in the final seconds from German trimmed the Aggie lead to just a pair, 36-34, at the break.

NIU was within one, 39-38, after a short baseline jumper by Daow early in the second half, but UC Davis scored the next six to ignite a 10-2 run as the Aggies lead 49-40 with 10:29 to play.

German scored the next five as the Huskies cut the UC Davis lead to four. The Aggies once again had an answer as they scored the next six to hold a 55-45 advantage with 5:32 left.

A triple from Mateen sparked another Huskie burst, sophomore Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois) added two free throws, sophomore Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) knocked in a trifecta and Mateen scored on a driving layup as a 10-2 run brought NIU within a pair, 57-55, with 1:44 remaining.

On the next possession, UC Davis converted an old-fashioned three-point play to push the lead back to five. The two teams then traded a pair of free throws with just over a minute left as the Aggie lead was still five and the Huskies would get no closer.

Joe Mooney scored a game-high 17 points to pace UC Davis, Stefan Gonzalez added 11 points off the bench for the Aggies.

Following a week off for finals, the Huskies will return to action on Monday, December 16 at Pittsburgh. Game time against the Panthers is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the contest will be televised nationally on the ACC Network.