KENT, Ohio – Playing its first game in four weeks, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team fell at Kent State, 80-58, on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 13) at the M.A.C. Center. Junior Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) and sophomore Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) each scored 13 points to pace the Huskies. 

"I thought holding (Kent State) to 32 in the first half was pretty good, they were on pace to score 64 and I thought we could score 65," said NIU interim head coach Lamar Chapman. "Our offense, shot selection, passing, missed free throws, missed layups, we hadn't played in four weeks, but you have to make layups and have to make better decisions on the offensive side. Our defense in the first half was pretty good, that is the positive we can take from today."

Cochran scored NIU's first six points to open the contest as the Huskies led in the early going, 6-2. 

A 10-0 run gave Kent State a 12-6 lead before a triple from Hankerson cut the Golden Flashes lead in half with just over 12 minutes to play in the opening stanza. 

Kent State (12-5, 9-4 MAC) then used a 9-3 burst to push its advantage to 21-12 before a steal and dunk from junior Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois) brought the Huskies back within seven. 

The Golden Flashes took a 32-20 lead into the intermission. Jeremiah Hernandez led all scorers with eight points in the opening 20 minutes as Kent State made six triples and went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. NIU shot just 25.9 percent (7-of-27) from the field in the first half and went 3-of-10 from the free-throw line. 

NIU (2-11, 1-7 MAC) and Kent State traded baskets to start the second half with junior Adong Makuoi (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada/Daytona State College) scoring, off a feed from Beane, for the Huskies. The Golden Flashes then used a 12-0 run to take a 46-22 lead with just under 15 minutes to play. 

An 11-3 Huskie burst trimmed the Kent State advantage to 49-33. Beane scored the first five of the run for the Huskies, Makuoi added the next four and Hankerson finished the spurt with a basket. 

Makuoi finished with eight points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, Beane scored seven points with a game-high six assists. 

Kent State responded with the next 11 points as the Golden Flashes led 60-33 just past the midway point of the second half. 

The Golden Flashes shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field in the second half en route to the victory. Five players scored in double figures for Kent State, led by 13 points from Malique Jacobs. Justyn Hamilton added 12 points while Hernandez, Danny Pippen and Giovanni Santiago each chipped in 11 points. 

NIU will remain on the road as it travels to Akron on Tuesday, February 16 to meet the Zips. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.