DEKALB, Ill. – Junior Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) scored a new career-high 22 points and the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team shot 64 percent (16-of-25) in the second half, but the Huskies were unable to overcome a five-point halftime deficit as they fell, 69-64, on Saturday evening (Feb. 20) at the NIU Convocation Center. 

Sophomore Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) added 11 points and junior Zool Kueth (Gallatin, Tenn./Pratt CC) chipped in 10 points. 

NIU shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field in the contest to just 39.6 percent (21-of-53) for Miami, but the RedHawks converted 20-of-24 trips to the free-throw line to just 5-of-10 from the Huskies. 

"I thought we let this one get away, we fought back in the second half and gave ourselves a chance to win the game, but I didn't like the way we closed the first half," said NIU interim head coach Lamar Chapman. "I liked our fight and our effort (in the second half) to make it a one possession game, unfortunately our execution down the stretch failed us and we came up short."

Miami (9-9, 6-7 MAC) used a 7-2 burst in the early going to take a 13-7 lead just over six minutes into the contest. NIU answered with the next seven as Hankeron and Kueth knocked in triples and Cochran added a free throw as the Huskies went back in front, 14-13.

After a pair of free throws by the RedHawks ended the run, NIU scored the next eight as junior Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois), junior Anthony Crump (Inkster, Mich./Middle Tennessee), Hankerson and sophomore Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill./Iowa Western CC) all contributed to the 8-0 run, giving the Huskies a 22-15 lead with just under eight minutes to play before the break. 

Thornton finished with a game-high five assists. 

A 10-1 Miami run pushed the RedHawks back in front, 25-23, with 2:55 left before the intermission. A triple by Kueth tied the game at 27 but Miami scored the final five points of the half to take a 32-27 lead into halftime. 

Mekhi Lairy led all scorers with 11 in the opening 20 minutes, Dae Dae Grant added 10. NIU was led by nine points from Hankerson in the first half. 

Miami scored eight of the first 10 to open the second half as the RedHawks extended their advantage to 42-31 four minutes into the second half. 

NIU (2-13, 1-9 MAC) cut the RedHawk advantage back to six, 46-40, but Miami responded with the next eight to push its lead to 54-40 just before the midway point of the second stanza. 

A basket by Crump and eight-straight from Hankerson, including a pair of triples, cut the RedHawks lead back to just four, 54-50, with 7:35 to play. 

Cochran scored three-straight baskets for the Huskies as NIU trimmed the lead to just three, 61-58, with a little over three minutes remaining. A pair of free throws from Kueth brought the Miami lead down to just a pair, 62-60, with 2:41 left, but the RedHawks scored the next four to but the game out of reach. 

Grant finished with a game-high 26 points to lead the RedHawks, Dalonte Brown had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds while Lairy finished with 12 points. 

NIU will be back in action on Tuesday, February 23, as the Huskies host Buffalo. Tipoff against the Bulls is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be available on ESPN3.