DEKALB, Ill. – In a game that featured 11 ties and 14 lead changes, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team made just enough plays late to outlast Kent State, 57-54, on Friday night (Feb. 7) at the NIU Convocation Center. 

Senior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored a season-high 27 points while senior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) and freshman Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) each chipped in eight points; James also recorded a game-high 11 rebounds. 

"I don't know if we were at our best in the first half, but you have to credit (Kent State's) defense, said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "It seemed like we couldn't get a rebound, but our guys just stuck together. (Eugene) German definitely carried us on the offensive end, Lacey James seemed like he got every single rebound and then Tyler Cochran probably made the play of the game.

"It was a typical MAC game, where it is a one or two possession game, I thought our guys were tough."

NIU's sixth consecutive win gives the Huskies their longest Mid-American Conference winning streak in program history as they improve to 15-9 overall, 8-3 in league play. 

A trifecta from James with 4:45 left to play gave NIU its largest lead of the night, 50-44, but Kent State came right back with back-to-back threes from Danny Pippen to pull the Golden Flashes even with just under four minutes left. 

German answered with the next four as NIU took a 54-50 lead with 1:44 to play, but once again Kent State responded with four in a row as the game was tied again with 55 seconds remaining. 

On NIU's next possession, German drove to the basket and drew a foul, splitting a pair at the line to give the Huskies a 55-54 lead with 42 ticks left on the clock. 

Following a Kent State turnover, the Huskies beat the Golden Flashes press and found Cochran ahead of the play for a layup with 11 seconds left as NIU took a 57-54 lead. The Huskies got a stop on the next possession as they earned their sixth-straight win and swept a two-game series against Kent State for the first time since the 1985-86 season. 

Pippen scored 16 points to lead the Golden Flashes, Anthony Roberts added 13 points and Antonio Williams grabbed 10 rebounds. 

Kent State (16-8, 6-5) held a one-point lead, 10-9, early in the contest until five consecutive Huskie points gave NIU a four-point advantage, 14-10. James opened the burst for NIU with a free throw and Cochran added the next four points.

The Huskie lead was still four after a triple from German with 9:12 left in the opening stanza, but Kent State scored the next five as the Golden Flashes took one-point lead, 24-23, with just under seven minutes left in the half. 

Kent State still led by one until back-to-back buckets from German and sophomore Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois) gave NIU a three-point advantage in the final minute of the half. The Golden Flashes knocked in a triple at the horn as the contest was even, 32-32, at the intermission. 

German led all scorers with 14 points in the opening 20 minutes. Troy Simons led Kent State with nine in the first half before being held scoreless after the break. 

NIU will head on the road for four of the next five, beginning Tuesday night, February 11, when the Huskies travel to Ball State. The next home game for NIU is scheduled for Saturday, February 22, when the Huskies host Central Michigan at 3:30 p.m.