DEKALB, Ill. – UIC finished on a 13-1 run to edge the Northern Illinois University Huskies, 65-61, on Wednesday night (Nov. 25) at the NIU Convocation Center in the season opener for both teams. The Flames made 11 three-pointers, including seven in the second half, and shot 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the field, 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from three in the second stanza.

Junior Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois) and sophomore Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) led the Huskies with 13 points, junior Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) added 10 points. 

"It was a tale of two halves," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "I thought we played our best basketball in the first half, especially on the defensive end, we held them to 23 percent, from both the two and the three. I thought we got out in transition, I thought we shared the ball, we had a better offensive flow. 

"Unfortunately it's a 40-minute game, we took our foot off the pedal, UIC made some plays, we had some breakdowns, we just didn't flow as well in the second half."

NIU (0-1) led 54-36 with less than nine minutes to play after an old-fashioned three-point play from Beane, but UIC responded with a 14-2 run to pull within six, 56-50, with 4:31 left. 

Beane scored the next four for the Huskies, sandwiched around a basket by UIC, as NIU led 60-52 with under four minutes remaining until three consecutive triples gave UIC a one-point lead, 61-60, with 16 seconds left. 

After a Huskie turnover, UIC made a pair of free throws to extend its lead and closed out the game from the line. 

Both team shot nearly identical percentages from the field as NIU finished at 40.4 percent (23-of-57) and UIC finished at 40 percent (24-of-60), but the Flames connected on 11 triples from just three for NIU. 

Hankerson scored the first five to start the game, giving NIU an early advantage. UIC scored 11 of the next 14 to take an 11-8 lead before a 7-0 burst from the Huskies gave NIU a 15-11 lead with 11:11 left in the opening half. Cochran scored five during the run and sophomore Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill./Iowa Western CC) added a layup as the Huskies went back in front by four. 

UIC was back within four, 20-16, until a 6-0 burst, ignited by a bucket from Hankerson before back-to-back baskets by Beane, gave NIU a 10-point lead with just over seven minutes left in the opening half, forcing a Flames timeout. 

Hankerson added another pair as the NIU lead ballooned to a dozen before UIC finally ended the run at 8-0. Junior Zool Kueth (Gallatin, Tenn./Pratt CC) and senior Nathan Scott (Naperville, Ill./Olney Central College) finished in the lane to answer the Flames as NIU took a 32-18 lead. 

The NIU run to finish the half reached 10-0, and extended to 18-2, as Cochran, junior Chinedu Kingsley Okanu (Gary, Ind./Vincennes University) and junior Anthony Crump (Inkster, Mich./Middle Tennessee) each added two more as the Huskies took a 38-18 lead into the intermission. 

Okanu finished with a game-high six rebounds. 

UIC used a 9-0 run early in the second half to trim the NIU advantage back to 40-27. The Flames pulled within a dozen, 44-32, before NIU used a 10-4 spurt to push the lead back to 18. Junior Adong Makuoi (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada/Daytona State College) opened the run with a pair of free throws, Cochran and Thornton added baskets before another free throw from Makuoi and an old-fashioned three-point play by Beane gave NIU a 54-36 lead with 8:47 remaining. 

Teyvion Kirk and RayQuawndis Mitchell each scored 12 points to lead UIC, Zion Griffin added 11 points and Braelen Bridges chipped in 10. 

NIU will return to action next Wednesday, December 2, as the Huskies welcome SIU Edwardsville to DeKalb. Game time against the Cougars is slated for 6 p.m.