KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Trailing by 13 with four minutes to play, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team rallied to within two, but saw it comeback attempt come up just short as the Huskies fell to Western Michigan, 76-74, on Tuesday night at University Arena.
Four players scored in double figures for the Huskies, led by 29 points, along with seven rebounds and four assists, from junior
Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter). Senior
Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) added 14 points, senior
Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) chipped in 11 points and senior
Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) scored 10.
With Western Michigan in front, 73-60, a corner triple from James with three-and-a-half minutes left sparked an 11-1 NIU run that brought the Huskies back within three, 74-71, with just over 90 seconds to go. James, German, Thorpe and Bradley each made a basket during the run to give the Huskies a chance to win in the final minutes.
After a defensive stop, NIU had a look at a corner triple, but it wouldn't go down as the Broncos remained in front in the final minute. A pair of free throws by the Broncos increased the lead to five before a German layup trimmed the advantage back to three with 11 seconds left.
Following two more missed free throws by Western Michigan, the Broncos fouled German intentionally to prevent a three-pointer. German made one at the line to cut the WMU lead to 74-76. The Broncos then missed two more free throws with two seconds left and NIU raced to get a shot, but a 35-footer came up short as Western Michigan escaped with the victory.
Seth Dugan scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Broncos. Michael Flowers added 14 points and Jared Printy chipped in 13.
With the game tied at five in the early going, Western Michigan used a 7-0 burst to take a 12-5 lead with 14:28 to play in the opening half.
The Broncos lead was four before back-to-back triples pushed the Western Michigan advantage to 23-13 just before the midway point of the half.
NIU (12-13, 5-7 MAC) trimmed the Western Michigan lead to nine on a basket by German with 1:37 left in the first half, but the Broncos scored the final four points of the half as they took a 43-30 lead into the intermission.
Western Michigan (7-17, 1-10 MAC) shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field in the first half, including 50 percent (6-of-12) from three-point range, while outrebounding NIU, 18-9.
NIU made an excellent start to the second half as a pair of baskets by Bradley and a short jumper from James cut the Western Michigan lead nearly in half, 43-36, and forced a Bronco timeout just over two minutes into the second stanza.
With NIU still trailing by seven, back-to-back baskets for Western Michigan helped the Bronco lead grow back to 11 at 51-40 with 13:45 left.
A triple by sophomore
Rod Henry-Hayes (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) brought the Huskies within nine, but Western Michigan used a 6-1 burst to take a 62-48 lead with just under nine minutes left.
NIU cut the Western Michigan lead back to seven, 64-57, on a triple by German and a pair of free throws from Thorpe with 6:40 to play, but the Broncos answered right back with the next seven as the lead grew to 71-57.
A German triple was followed by a pair of free throws by Dugan as Western Michigan led by 13, setting up the late NIU comeback attempt.
NIU will return home on Saturday, February 16 as the Huskies host Bowling Green in the second game of a doubleheader. The NIU women's basketball team will face Toledo at 1 p.m., followed by the men's game against the Falcons at 3:30 p.m.
Saturday is "Cram the Convo" and NIU's Spring Homecoming, Victor E. Huskie Bobbleheads will be given to the first 1,000 fans in attendance at both games. Tickets are available from the NIU Convocation Center Box Office, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or by visiting NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
