CHICAGO – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team overcame a five-point halftime deficit to down Chicago State, 70-59, on Monday afternoon (Dec. 13) at the Jones Convocation Center. The Huskies started the second half with a 17-3 run and never looked back, Keshawn Williams (Chicago Heights, Ill./Tulsa) led the way with a game-high 19 points, along with five rebounds and three assists. 

Trendon Hankerson (Novi, MIch./Novi) added 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals, Anthony Crump (Inkster, Mich./Middle Tennessee) had 12 points and six rebounds while Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) chipped in 11 points. 

"We battled, but we have to do a better job of starting the game quicker and more efficient," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "In the second half we obviously did a lot better, we scored 48 (second half) points, we have had games where we haven't scored 48 points, but is a work in progress. As poorly as we played (early), there was still a lot of game left and we flipped the first four minutes of the second half compared to the first half."

NIU (3-6) stormed out of the locker room to start the second half, using a 13-3 burst to take a 35-30 lead, forcing a Chicago State timeout five minutes into the second half. Thornton and Hankerson each made triples to start the half, Williams added an old-fashioned three-point play before Crump and Hankerson finished at the rim to put the Huskies in front by five. 

A free throw from Crump and a trifecta by Thornton helped the Huskie lead grow to 39-30 as the NIU run reached 14-0. 

With Chicago State back within four, NIU used a 7-2 spurt to push its advantage to 46-37 with just over eight minutes to go. Hankerson ignited that burst with a triple before Williams and Crump each added baskets. 

Hankerson made a pair of free throws with 5:22 to go that put the Huskies in front by double-digits and NIU made 15 free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory. 

The Huskies shot 50 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range in the contest and held a 15-5 edge in second chance points while outrebounding the Cougars, 39-32. 

Brandon Betson scored 13 points to lead Chicago State, Jahsean Corbett added 11 points while Jameon Harris scored 10 points. 

Chicago State (3-7) jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the opening four minutes of the contest before Chinedu Kingsley Okanu (Lynwood, Ill./Vincennes University) finished off a feed from Williams and Hankerson knocked in a triple to cut the Cougars lead in half. 

After the Cougars pushed their advantage to 19-7, NIU responded with a 7-3 burst to cut the Chicago State advantage back to 22-14 with just over eight minutes left in the half. Williams opened the run for the Huskies with a basket, Darweshi Hunter (Cincinnati, Ohio/Weber State) knocked in a triple and Okanu added a pair of free throws. 

NIU closed the half with six consecutive points to trim the Cougars lead to 27-22 at the half. Chicago State led 27-16 before Hunter made his second trifecta of the half and Williams scored the final three before the intermission. 

Hunter finished with eight points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Huskies. 

NIU will play its final road game of the calendar year on Sunday, Dec. 19, when it travels to UIC, before return home for the non-conference finale against Indiana State on Dec. 22 and the league opener with Ball State on Dec. 28.

Huskie Flex Plans are now available for the 2021-22 basketball season. Purchase vouchers for $6 each and use them throughout the season to attend Huskie men's and women's basketball home games. Simply redeem vouchers for tickets at the box office prior to the game. Tickets can be purchased online at NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).