OXFORD, Ohio – Miami shot 46 percent (23-of-50) from the field as it upended the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team, 65-60, on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 15) at Millett Hall. Senior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored a game-high 21 points to pace the Huskies, senior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) added 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. 

Miami (10-15, 3-9 MAC) was in front by a pair in the early going after a pull-up jumper from junior Zaire Mateen (Queens, N.Y./Laramie County CC), but the RedHawks extended their lead to eight, 15-7, with just over 13 minutes left in the half after back-to-back triples.

NIU (15-11, 8-5 MAC) used a 6-0 burst to pull within four, 19-15, before Miami answered with a pair of triples as the lead extended to 10 with a little over eight minutes to play before the intermission. German scored four of the six and senior Noah McCarty (Rock Falls, Ill./Sterling Newman) added the other pair during the spurt. 

McCarty finished with nine points and seven rebounds. 

With Miami still in front by 10, a layup from sophomore Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois), followed by a pair of layups off steals from sophomore Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi), helped the Huskies trim the RedHawk lead to 27-23 with 4:21 left in the half. 

A bucket from Mateen brought the Huskies within a pair before Miami pushed the lead back to a half-dozen. German scored the final pair of the first half to trim the RedHawk lead to 31-27 at the break. 

Miami scored five quick points to start the second half as the RedHawks took a 36-27 lead. NIU answered with three-straight from Beane to trim the Miami lead to a half-dozen before another RedHawk basket gave the hosts a 38-30 lead with 15:21 left. 

NIU cut the Miami lead to five, 42-37, on back-to-back buckets from German and James. After the RedHawks pushed their lead to seven, a bucket from German and a pair of free throws by James pulled the Huskies to within three, 46-43, with under nine minutes remaining. 

A triple from the wing by McCarty cut the Miami lead to just two, but four-straight free throws from the RedHawks helped the lead grow back to 54-48.

Trailing by seven with under two minutes to go, James connected on a trifecta and German converted a basket to bring the Huskies within a pair, 60-58, with just over a minute remaining. 

Miami split a pair of free throws on its next possession but, after NIU came up empty, the RedHawks made a pair at the line to increase their lead to five, preserving the victory.     

Isaiah Coleman-Lands came off the bench to lead Miami with 15 points, Dae Dae Grant added 11 while Elijah McNamara and Bam Bowman each scored 10 points. 

Despite the loss, NIU remains in first place in the MAC West Division and will return home on Saturday, February 22, following its midweek bye as 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).