DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team heads back on the road Saturday, February 15, as the Huskies travel to Oxford, Ohio to face Miami. Game time against the RedHawks is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN3.
NIU (15-10, 8-4 MAC) saw its six-game win streak come to an end on Tuesday night (Feb. 11) at Ball State but, despite the setback, the Huskies remain atop the Mid-American Conference West Division by a half-game over the Cardinals.
Senior
Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored a team-high 18 points on Tuesday against Ball State and now has 2,070 in his career, just one shy of Melvin McLaughlin (Central Michigan, 1980-83) for 10th on the conference career scoring list.
Junior
Zaire Mateen (Queens, N.Y./Laramie County CC) and freshman
Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) each added 10 points off the bench against the Cardinals. Mateen has added a spark of late, scoring 6.0 points per game over the last four contests while shooting 55.6 percent from the field. Cochran has scored in double figures three times in league play and is averaging 6.5 points per game over the last 14 contests.
The RedHawks bring a 9-15 overall record, including a 2-9 MAC mark, into Saturday's contest. Miami dropped a 65-57 decision at Toledo last time out. Two players are scoring in double figures for Miami, led by Nike Sibande at 13.3 points per game. Dalonte Brown adds 11.0 points per contest and is also the leading rebounder for the RedHawks at 5.7 boards per game.
In the first meeting between the two teams just two weeks ago (Feb. 1), NIU topped Miami 70-55 behind German's game-high 21 points. Sophomore
Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois) scored 13 points and senior
Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies
NIU will have its midweek bye next week before returning home on Saturday, February 22 when the Huskies host Central Michigan as part of Cram the Convo. Tickets for next Saturday's doubleheader, and all remaining home games, including flex passes, are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225).
