DEKALB, Ill. – Four players scored in double figures, led by 16 points from senior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI), as the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team defeated Western Michigan, 70-65, on Tuesday night at the NIU Convocation Center. 

Junior Noah McCarty (Rock Falls, Ill./Sterling Newman) scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, sophomore Rod Henry-Hayes (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) also had 12 points and senior Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) chipped in 11 points. 

"It started on the defensive end," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "It carried over from (Saturday at) Toledo, our energy, our effort, our ball pressure. We dictated tempo, we made enough plays offensively to win the game, but it was all our defense and rebounding. It feels good to get 16 assists and (have) guys make some shots. We had good balance, from our bigs and our guards."

Junior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) finished with seven points, seeing his streak of 58 consecutive double-figure scoring games come to an end, but dished out a career-best seven assists, along with three steals.  

An 8-0 burst gave the Huskies a 24-15 lead with nine minutes to play in the opening half. Bradley opened the run with a short jumper, he then added a triple and Henry-Hayes knocked down a three as NIU (13-15, 6-9 MAC) went in front by nine. 

Western Michigan (8-20, 2-13 MAC) answered with the next nine to pull even at 24, but NIU came right back with the next seven as the Huskie lead grew to 31-24 with 3:44 left before the intermission. Bradley made a pair of baskets and Thorpe converted an old-fashioned three-point play as the Huskies took a seven-point lead. 
    
After the Broncos scored the next five to trim the NIU lead to just a pair, McCarty scored the final seven points of the half, including a trifecta and a tip-in just before the horn, as the Huskies took a 38-29 lead into the intermission. 

Bradley, who tied the NIU school record by playing in his 126th career game, had 14 points at the intermission as the Huskies were 6-of-12 from three-point range at the break and forced 11 Western Michigan turnovers in the first half. 

In front by nine, NIU used an 8-2 burst to take a 63-48 lead with 7:33 to play. Senior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) started the burst with a triple, Henry-Hayes added a three and Thorpe finished ahead of the pack off a steal as the Huskies took a 15-point lead. 

James finished with nine points while Henry-Hayes was a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the three-point line. 

The Broncos scored the next six, cutting the NIU lead back to nine with just under five minutes left. The Huskie lead was still nine when McCarty made a pair of free throws with 2:09 remaining to push the NIU advantage back to double-digits, 68-57. 

Western Michigan closed the game with an 8-2 burst, including a basket in the final seconds, but the Broncos never truly threatened as NIU never trailed in the contest. 

Seth Dugan posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Broncos, Kawanise Wilkins chipped in 14 points off the bench. 

NIU will close the home portion of its regular season on Saturday afternoon, March 2, when the Huskies host Eastern Michigan at 2 p.m. Saturday's contest will be "Star Wars Day" and will also be Senior Day. Tickets are available from the NIU Convocation Center Box Office, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or by visiting NIUHuskies.com/tickets.