DEKALB, Ill. – Junior Darius Beane's (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois) pullup jumper with one second left in regulation helped give the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team a 67-65 victory over Akron on Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 12) at the NIU Convocation Center.

Juniors Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) and Justin Lee (Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill) each scored 15 points, Lee also had a game-high 11 rebounds to record his first career double-double. Beane finished with six points, eight rebounds and a career-high seven assists. The victory was the first collegiate win for NIU interim head coach Lamar Chapman.

"I thought our guys played great," said Chapman. "We were locked in from start-to-finish, we got good contributions from a little bit of everybody. Our starters stepped up, Trendon (Hankerson) was great on defense, our bigs did a great job of helping on ball screens and the overall effort of our guys, our energy, our togetherness and our toughness showed today in a hard-fought win against a good Akron team."

Tailing by eight five minutes into the second half, NIU used a 13-4 burst to take a 49-48 lead. Junior Chinedu Kingsley Okanu (Gary, Ind./Vincennes University) started the run with a bucket, Hankerson added a pair of triples and Lee scored the last five as the Huskies went in front by one with just under 12 minutes to play. 

Okanu finished with 10 points and six rebounds. 

After Akron scored to go back in front, NIU used an 8-2 run to take a five-point lead, 57-52, with eight minutes remaining. Senior Nathan Scott (Naperville, Ill./Olney Central College) made the first basket of the run, Lee made a pair of free throws and junior Adong Makuoi (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada/Daytona State College) added four points. 

Scott finished the contest with nine points, six rebounds and a pair of assists. 

The two teams then traded baskets heading into the final two minutes as a bucket from Akron cut the Huskie advantage to 63-60. 

Lee scored again to give the Huskies a five-point edge, but Akron responded with the next five, including a layup from Loren Cristian Jackson with 11 seconds remaining, to tie the game at 65. 

Following a timeout, NIU inbounded on the side with six seconds to play and Beane hit an 18-foot jumper with one second left to give the Huskies a 67-65 lead. NIU stole the Akron inbounds pass as the Huskies claimed the two-point win. 

NIU (2-9, 1-5 MAC) shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field in the second half, including a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range. 

An 8-0 burst in the opening two minutes of the contest helped give Akron an early 11-2 edge. NIU used a 7-2 spurt to pull back within five, 16-11, with 12:53 left in the opening half. Beane opened the run with a bucket, Okanu followed with a basket and Scott closed the run with a corner triple.

The Zips pushed their advantage to seven before NIU used a 7-0 run to even the contest at 18. Scott fueled the run with the first pair, Beane made two free throws and junior Zool Kueth (Gallatin, Tenn./Pratt CC) knocked in a triple as the Huskies tied the game with 9:23 remaining in the first half. 

Akron (4-3, 2-2 MAC) moved back in front by a half-dozen with six minutes to play before halftime until a basket from Hankerson and a layup by Makuoi trimmed the Zips lead back to just a pair, 24-22. Akron's lead grew back to seven before NIU scored six of the final eight to close the half, trimming the Zips advantage to three, 31-28, at the break. 

Back-to-back triples from Hankerson and Kueth ignited an 8-0 run by the Huskies early in the second half as NIU pulled even at 36. Akron answered with the next eight before NIU's 13-4 run to setup the game's final 12 minutes. 

Ali Ali scored 15 points to pace the Zips, Bryan Trimble Jr. added 12 points and Jackson finished with 10 for Akron. 

NIU will be back on the road on Saturday, January 16, as the Huskies travel to Muncie, Ind., to meet Ball State. Tipoff against the Cardinals is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+.